Entwined Souls
by Roozu Doll
Summary: Sequel to Twisted. Karen Bernetta-Castillon is in love with Chandler, but she thinks the feelings are only one-sided. Not to mention a new evil is arising, and will test peoples hearts in ways they had never imagined.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Entwined Souls is the sequel to Twisted. If you haven't read my story Twisted, then DO NOT READ THIS STORY YET. Okay? :)

This story follows Karen Bernetta-Castillon in a dramatic and romantic telling of her life.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and characters of this story. I do NOT own any songs, states or countries in this story -though owning the U.S.A. would make me a very powerful woman…… Oh well.

This takes place sixteen years after Karen is born. Enjoy!

* * *

The entire summer without seeing Chandler killed me. Okay, maybe not literally, but it sucked. _Horribly. _He had gone on a boat and camping trip for three _whole _months with his girlfriend Skyla. I shudder every time I hear her name or see her. I wouldn't be surprised if she ruined her achingly gorgeous figure by getting pregnant. I nibbled my lip angrily. It was a habit I had learned from Mom.

I sat in front of my mirror, staring into my pale reflection. My family were all vampires -save for me and my mother, Alexa. She had vampire _and_ shape shifter blood in her, though she didn't need blood, and she couldn't shape shift. I was only half vampire. Disappointing, right? _Totally_.

I had acquired my second cousins' black hair, but my fathers golden-brown eyes. I was _always_ complimented on them at school. I had my mom's facial structure and body type. The human boys at school were stupid and continued to ask me out _frequently_. They just couldn't take a hint, could they?

Obviously not. Though I couldn't kill them, because I didn't have super strength, nor did I have a craving for blood. My only powers from being half vampire were slightly heightened senses, pale skin and beauty, and of course -immortality at a certain age. Chandler had stopped aging at eighteen.

There was a knock at my door, and then I heard Liam's voice. "Your mom wants you downstairs." he called through the door. He was my second cousin -like Lucas. He was extremely hot, though I felt awkward thinking that way of him. He was my family of course.

I walked to the door and opened it, seeing Liam standing there. He smiled down at me. I was the only person he ever really had emotions around, because I liked him the best out of my family. Well, other then my mom and dad.

I replied with a smile and then walked past him. My hair was cropped just a centimeter beneath my chin, and was always straightened, thanks to Autumn. She was awesome. Somehow she new exactly what I liked, and always went shopping with me. My attire consisted of usually dark clothes -dark blue or black jeans, skulls and fishnets- that kind of stuff. "The gothic/emo stuff".

Skyla was the complete opposite. She was daylight compared to me. Maybe that was why Chandler chose her instead of me. But then again, Chandler thought of me as a little sister -which I despised so much. I never told him how I really felt about him. I couldn't. I was an outsider compared to him and Skyla.

They were the hottest couple at our school.

My only friends consisted of my childhood friends Emery and his little sister Nydia. They were both shape shifters, son and daughter of Calixto and Jelani. Their parents were pretty cool.

"Mom?" I asked as I walked down the stairs. Her and dad were sitting at the table. They both looked up at the same time and smiled at me. "What's up?" I sat down between them.

"Are you ready for your first day of junior year tomorrow?" Mom asked me, flipping through a small stack of papers.

"Of course. Aren't I always?" I mentally rolled my eyes. I hated school.

She pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "This has your schedule in it, and your ID card from picture day the other day."

I sliced open the envelope quickly to see my schedule. Oh no, I hoped I had good classes this year! I pulled the sheet of folded paper out and hurriedly unfolded it. Liam walked down the stairs then, and leaned over the railing to watch me.

I read my schedule and sighed heavily. "Gym first thing in the morning? These humans are trying to kill me." I complained. Dad snorted beside me and ruffled my hair up. I glared up at him from my paper, then read the rest of my classes out loud. "Calculus, English, History and -Natural Science?!"

I sneered at the paper. Science was my worst subject. Math was my best, so I was basically a nerd at school. Mom took the paper from my hand and studied them with a silent smirk on her face.

"My Karen is growing up so fast." she faked enthusiasm, and then gave me a side hug with a laugh. I chuckled and hugged her back. She was an awesome mother.

Suddenly the front door opened, and I heard a familiar voice. "Oh Karrreeennn!" It was Tayte. I groaned and leaned back in my chair. Said vampire appeared in the room then, and smiled the toothiest smile at me. His blue eyes shined brightly, and every time I saw them I instantly thought of Chandler. _Ugh_.

"Tayte, you're here early." my mom said, and glanced at the clock.

He shrugged and walked over to me and I knew what was coming. Without a single word, he plucked me up from my chair and in his arms bridal style. "Don't break her." my dad said, before Tayte carried me out of the house with Liam right behind us.

They made it sure from the day I was born to make my life living hell -in a playful way. Pretty much every other day in the summer Tayte came to pick me up with Liam and they both took me to some form of restaurant, movie theaters, stores or whatnot to keep my social life with males in tune. Tayte always admitted he loved me, and Liam teased me all the time.

It was cute, really. But annoying.

I think they did it to take my mind off of Chandler. I was pretty sure Chandler was the only one who wasn't aware of my unrequited love for him.

"This time, we're going to see Chandler!" Tayte said in a sing-song voice. My head snapped up from looking out the cars window, and focused on Tayte who was driving.

"What? He's back?!" I asked in an eager voice. Liam, in the passengers seat, looked at me from the car mirror with a smirk on his pretty face.

"Yep. As of this morning." he supplied. I took a deep breath and looked back out the window. I kind of wished Emery was there with me, because he would reassure me to stay calm during times like these.

Three months without seeing the one I love really did something. Finally, we drove into Tayte's garage and stopped the car. They had quite the large house too. My heart was panicking and fluttering against my chest like a butterfly.

Tayte looked back at me from the drivers seat with serious face. "Calm down your heart or else I'll bite you. I bet your blood tastes just as good as your moms." he said. I froze, and looked at him.

"You've tasted my moms blood?!" I cried out, and Tayte burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that was a long time ago though. Long story as well." he mused, and then we all climbed out of the car. When Tayte walked beside Liam and I, I self-consciously covered my neck and eyed him from the corner of my eye.

He smirked at me and then patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't bite unless you ask for it." those words may have sounded innocent to Tayte, but they made my cheeks heat up.

I took a deep breath as we walked into the sweet smelling house. "Are Autumn and Lucas here?" I asked as we made our way through the living room.

"Nope. They went to a movie a little bit before I left home to get you. Chandler should be upstairs, probably working out or playing video games." Tayte told me, and him and Liam left me to go to the kitchen.

Yeah, they had a weight room. Not. Even. Kidding. A game room, weight room, den _and_ living room, and three beautiful bathrooms that I loved. I trotted up the stairs, taking my time. I knew if Chandler was paying attention he'd sense my arrival. I went to the weight room first, and was disappointed that he wasn't there.

So instead, I went to his bedroom, two rooms down. I knocked twice. Seconds afterwards, the door opened, revealing a half naked Chandler wearing only black boxers with tousled hair. My breath caught in my throat. His gorgeous blue eyes widened slightly when he saw me.

"Oh -I thought you were Autumn or Lucas. Uh… Hold on a minute." he shut the door again, and I heard giggling on the other side. Ah, I know why he was so distraught now. Skyla was in there with him. I bit my cheek to keep hot tears from forming, and instead put a weak smile on my face.

The door opened again, and this time he was wearing knee-length plaid Ezekiel shorts and an unbuttoned shirt that flashed off his beautifully smooth stomach and chest. Behind him, Skyla was just slipping on a shirt.

"Do you want to come in?" he asked. I forced my fake smile bigger and then walked in. Skyla smiled at me.

She was really nice, and was _also _completely unaware of my love for her boyfriend. "Hey girly. What are you up to?" she asked in her soft voice, her ringlets of red hair bouncing slightly as she kissed my cheek. It was a friendly thing to do, but it only made me want to slap her.

"Tayte brought me here against my will to see Chandler… and you." I quickly added so nothing sounded selfish.

"Against your will?" Chandler asked me, and turned on his TV. It was 50 inches by something, and flat screen. He looked back at me with his eyebrows raised just above the hairline of his messy bangs.

"Well, you know Tayte." I said, rolling my eyes. Chandler laughed and patted me on the head, messing up my straightened hair.

"It's all cool. I'm glad to see you again, Shorty."

There it was. That name. That was who I was. I don't think I had really ever heard him say my name for a long time. It was always Shorty, Dork, or Hun. He used to call me Karen when we were younger, but since he's been with Skyla -for three years- he had always called me one of those nicknames.

"Want to play some video games? We should play that one gun game!" Skyla said to me excitedly.

"Sure." Though I sucked at video games, of course. _Anything to pretend to shoot you, Skyla dear_.

Chandler smirked at his girlfriend and then plugged in his x-box. He handed each of us a wireless controller, and then put in the game. I couldn't remember the name of it for the life of me.

"Can we go _all_ out on each other?" Skyla asked him, and I watched as she ran her hand up his thigh. It was so intimate that I had look away. I heard Chandler give a sultry chuckle.

_Oh God_. What was I thinking?! "Um, actually, I don't feel very good. I think I'm going to go home." I suddenly said, before I could control my voice.

It went quiet then, and I looked back over at the couple. They were both looking at me. Chandler had a frown on his face, and Skyla was worried for me. "Okay. Feel better before tomorrow! Can't wait to see you at school!" Skyla said, smiling and giving me a side hug. I nodded in reply and then waved bye to Chandler.

Chandler stared after me, I could feel his eyes on my backside. Was he staring at my ass or back? I wasn't sure. I quickly shut his door behind me and took a deep, shaky breath. I then walked down the stairs to see Liam flipping through the channels on the TV in boredom.

"Where is Tayte? I want to go home." I said. Liam looked up at me.

"Couldn't take anymore of the lovebirds?" he asked nonchalantly. I grimaced and nodded.

Liam pointed a thumb behind him, towards the kitchen. "He's making sex on the beach."

I gave him a look as I passed him and went to the kitchen. Sure enough, Tayte was mixing a drink with alcohol. He noticed my arrival and looked up. He also noticed my mood, because he quickly set the bottle down.

"Don't tell me," he started dryly, "Skyla is here?"

I nodded and sunk into a chair next to the dining table. Tayte sighed and walked over to me. He leaned over me, causing me to tip my chair back, as I stared at his sudden bold move.

"How many times have I told you that _I_ love you?" he asked me in a voice just above a whisper. I stared into his eyes and saw Chandler. I closed my eyes quickly, not wanting to see him.

Tayte's hand rested on my cheek, and I felt his power zap through me. He was reading into my mind. "You see me as Chandler?!" he asked, shocked. He pulled back slightly to get a better look at me.

"I-it's not like that…" I stated feebly. "…It's your eyes."

Tayte went quiet, and I didn't dare open my eyes. How could I? Tayte was Chandler's _older_ brother; he was years older then me, though he didn't look it at all. He could be twenty, just four years older then me. But who knows. He's a vampire.

Then I felt his soft, cool lips touch my cheek, just millimeters from my lips. My eyes shot open and he slid his mouth towards mine. "No!" I shouted, before he got to my lips. I slammed my hand right in the middle of his face to shove him away from me. At the same time, my chair fell backwards, and I went with it.

"Ow…" Tayte muttered, and tenderly touched his nose. I stared up at him from my spot on the floor. He raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure like to play hard to get."

I scowled at him, and then rolled off the fallen chair to stand up. "Can you take me home, please?" I asked him. Before he answered, the kitchen door opened, and Chandler came in.

"What was that scream for?" he asked me, and looked from Tayte, to me, to the chair that was currently laying comfortably on the ground.

I saw Tayte open his mouth to answer, and I became horrified with what his answer would be. I quickly slapped him across the face. He let out a low hiss. "Oh, um, just -uh, practicing for my karate class this year." I laughed nervously, and then punched Tayte in the stomach as hard as I could. He growled at me and leaned slightly over the table, clutching his stomach. It didn't hurt him much, but it was enough to shut him up.

I smiled back at Chandler, who looked completely confused. "They have karate?" he asked, and then shook his head. "Never mind. Don't want to know. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he said to me, and then hugged me. His chest was still bare, and I nearly sunk against him weakly, had he not let go so fast. He left the kitchen without a second glance.

Tayte took a handful of my hair and gently pulled my head back so he could look down at me. I was only five-foot-three, after all. Vampires towered over me. He scowled down at me. "You are _so_ going to pay for that." he threatened. I smirked and pulled my head away from him. He let go of my hair, not wishing to hurt me.

"Want to take me home now?" I asked. Tayte pulled his keys from his pocket and yelled through the kitchen door.

"Liam, if you want your sex on the beach, come make it yourself. I'm taking your pain-in-the-ass second cousin home!"

* * *

A/N: Soooooo, how is it so far? :D

And for those of you who don't know, sex on the beach is an alcoholic drink, haha. Review, please. _Constructive _criticism is welcome! It helps!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I thought it was kind of hilarious to have Karen beat up Tayte as an excuse. I mean, karate? Haha.

Anyway, here's the second chappie!

* * *

"_Shh, they might hear you." Chandler told me, as he brushed his fangs along my throat. His hands were trailing over my body, and I held my breath to keep myself from moaning. It was so hot in my room suddenly, and Chandler kept teasing me, pulling back and then latching his mouth back onto my neck. _

"_Karen." he whispered to me. _

"_Hmmm?" I murmured, wrapping my arms around his shoulders._

"_Karen!" _

_I opened my eyes, to see him staring down at me. "Huh?"_

"Karen!"

My eyes shot open for real this time, and I heard my alarm clock beeping. My dad was glaring at me, his arms crossed over his chest. "What the hell kind of dream was that?" he hissed, reading my mind quickly. I blushed deep red, and then threw the covers off of me.

"It was _just_ a dream. Not like it would ever happen in reality." I muttered, standing up and shutting my alarm clock off. "Why are you in here and reading your innocent daughters mind?"

He sighed and rubbed his temples as if he had an oncoming headache. "You had better stay innocent for awhile until you love someone for a long time. Your alarm clock was going off forever."

"Psh please. I heard you had sex with mom within a month of knowing her. I've known Chandler my whole life." I retorted.

Dad's gold eyes widened and I smirked. "Just get ready for school." he replied, and left my room. One point for Karen, zero for dad.

I sighed and walked to my dresser, pulling out a pair of black skinny jeans, underwear and a bra, and a dark gray t-shirt that said, "Cute is What we Aim For" in large, colorful letters. It was a band that mom introduced me too, and I absolutely _love_ them.

Bringing my clothes into the bathroom with me, I hopped in the shower. Then I dressed, and brushed my teeth. It wasn't too long after I started blow drying my hair that someone knocked on the bathroom door.

I opened it, and Liam was leaning against the doorframe drinking blood from a bottle. He glanced over at me. "I need to shower." he said. I raised an eyebrow, and then blasted him with the blow dryer. He hissed at me, and then put the bottle in the sink, before attacking me against the counter.

I dreaded these mornings. He began tickling me. "N-no! S-stop! I'm s-s-sorry! _Dad! Mom!_" I laughed and gasped at the same time. His evil smirk told me nobody would come to my rescue. He reached underneath my arms, and tickled me more. I laughed harder, and my cheeks were starting to hurt. Then he stopped, and I fell against the counter panting. He stepped back and then grabbed his bottle of blood.

"Lest that be a warning, _Mademoiselle_." he whispered, and then he left the room. I laughed a little more at his attempt at French, and finished drying and straightening my hair; then I brushed my teeth.

Finally, I walked down the stairs, grabbing my backpack on the way. Who needed a jacket when summer _just_ got over? I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw who was sitting at the table eating food.

"Emery!" I squealed in delight. He looked up in surprise, only to be tackled into a hug. Nydia laughed beside him. She was a freshman in high school, where as Emery and I were juniors.

I pulled back so the shape shifter could breath, and then I hugged Nydia. They were both adorable. They each had tanned skin, the result of the white skin of handsome Calixto and the dark skin of beautiful Jelani. Nydia got the orange-ish eyes and Emery got the dark ones of his mothers. They each had black hair.

"Are you nervous for school?" Emery asked me as I sat down to wait for them to finish eating. I wasn't hungry, and I had already brushed my teeth. My dad probably already went to work, and mom was most likely still sleeping, like Calixto and Jelani.

"Nope. Not at all." I said. Nydia paled slightly.

"I am! I mean, I'm going to be a freshman!" she said excitedly. I smiled and nodded, though she sounded more happy then nervous.

"Freshman year is the hardest." Emery said, and I nodded. We both looked a Nydia seriously.

"Oh… You guys are mean." she muttered, casting us fake glares. Then we laughed. I heard someone ring the doorbell, and I quickly went to the door to open it.

Chandler was on the other side, dressed a different pair of light blue jeans, not baggy nor tight, and a button up shirt that bared a bit of his collarbone and chest. I nearly drooled. He smiled at me. "Hey, you and the others want to walk to school with me?" he asked, looking behind me.

"Where's your girlfriend?" I asked, trying not to sound so grim.

"She had to go to school early. Something about joining cheerleading." he made a face, and I couldn't help but smile. Yeah, Skyla was a cheerleader. That was the only closest thing to a sport she was allowed to join, since she was a vampire. We tried not to get into the "big" sports, since we have super strength and speed.

"Yeah, you can walk with us." Nydia said from my side, and smiled brightly up at him. She too, like several other girls at the school, had a crush on him. Chandler smiled back.

"Alright, cool. Where is Emery?" he asked.

"Coming." Emery said from behind me, and I turned to see him grabbing his bag. As we all walked out the door, he eyed me, a scowl on his cute face.

I knew that look from anywhere. He didn't like Chandler. Why? I had no clue. We walked alongside each other, Chandler and Nydia just a few steps ahead of us. I stared at Chandler's backside for a couple of minutes, before Emery nudged my shoulder with his.

"What?" I asked, looking at him.

He was giving me an accusing stare. Oh. He caught me staring at Chandler's ass. Woops. I smiled guiltily at him and he rolled his black eyes. Nydia and Chandler were talking, and I ignored them, as I watched the ground I was walking on. I was pretty clumsy. Cliché right? Well, mine didn't happen _all_ the time. It usually happened at the most serious times. Like, when I need to run away? Yeah.

I usually trip on my face.

It was only a couple minutes later when I heard the faint conversations of students. I looked up to see we were only a hundred yards from the school. To the side were the football fields, and I could see cheerleader tryouts going on. Other students crowded around the front of the school, chatting or texting as buses drove by to drop more students off.

"I'm going to meet up with Skyla -see how she's doing." Chandler dismissed himself, giving me a glance before leaving to the fields where I could see Skyla's blood-red hair. I stood there, watching as Chandler snuck up on her and then scared her. My heart sunk into a dark pit even more so when she twirled around and laughed, kissing him passionately.

Someone grabbed my wrist suddenly, and I looked over with wide eyes. Emery was glaring at me. "Stop watching. The pain is obvious on your face, Ren."

I loved when he called me Ren, it was my nickname. I sighed heavily and turned away from the scene. Nydia had run off to meet some of her middle school friends who were now also in high school.

"Sorry. It _does_ hurt though." I muttered, and Emery gave me a tight hug.

"So do you still want to eat lunch at the normal place?" he asked me, letting me go. I smiled and nodded. Emery smirked. "Shall we also continue to make the jocks' lives living hell?"

This time I smirked evilly with him. "Always have, always will, Em dear." I snickered.

"Emery!" someone called, breaking through a crowd of people. We looked over to see one of Emery's good friends, Darien, coming up to us. He smiled at me and then turned to Emery. "I found this really cool drawing of this-"

Blah, blah, blah. I quickly told Emery I'd see him in second period, and then left to head to my locker. See? I only had a couple true friends and one true love. I paced past excited students in the hall, checking a clock on the wall. The warning bell would ring in ten minutes.

I made it to my locker, and opened it. I grabbed out my notebook full of paper and a notepad of several drawings I drew of nature and animals. I loved art. I shut my locker and started walking to my first period. On the way, I flung my backpack around and unzipped it to start putting my notebook in.

Wrong choice. I walked past the corner of the lockers and ran straight headfirst into someone. _Literally_. I gasped as I fell on my ass, and my notebook flew from my hands, scattering papers everywhere.

"Oh shit! I am so sorry!" A deep, velvety voice apologized. I looked up to see a breathtakingly sexy guy lean down to start picking up my papers.

I couldn't believe it. He was as sexy as Chandler.

"N-no! It was my fault. I should be the one apologizing." I gasped, and rubbed my forehead as I sat up. Wow, we head butt each other _hard_. He didn't seem fazed by it. Was he a vampire?

Finally he looked up at me, and I almost stopped breathing. No, definitely not a vamp. His skin was tanned, a couple shades darker then mine. His eyes were the darkest shade of blue, almost indigo. His hair was long like Chandlers, meeting his earlobes in dark locks and his bangs were brushed to one side of his angular, tough face.

"You okay?" he waved a hand in front of me, and I blinked.

"O-oh, yeah! S-sorry." I took the papers he held out to me, and quickly shoved them and my notebook successfully into my bag. Then the stranger stood, and held his hand out to me. I hesitantly took it, and the he pulled me up as if I weighed nothing more then a feather. Not to mention his skin was _warm_.

A werewolf maybe? If so, that would be bad. We were mortal enemies.

"You have a red spot on your forehead. I must have run into you pretty hard." he acknowledged, touching my forehead. I flinched back in surprise and touched my head. His hand dropped and then he smiled at me.

"My name is Kaius, but you can call me Kai." he held his hand out for a handshake.

I eyed his hand, and gently shook it. "I'm Karen, but just call me Ren." I suggested, shrugging my shoulders. Kai smiled a deadly hot smile again, and it was almost hard to believe he was a werewolf.

But then again, I _was_ just guessing. Too bad I wasn't a full vampire. Now neither of us would ever know who the other was if he _was _a wolf. "I'm kind of new to this city, so maybe you can help around the school a bit?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure. What is your schedule?"

He quickly reached into his pocket and handed it to me. I opened it and looked at it. "Wow, what a coincidence. We have the same first, second and fifth period together. I can show you where your third and fourth period is after second. We have break during that time."

Kai nodded and took his schedule back. The first bell suddenly rang, and I was shocked when I realized ten minutes had flown by so fast. "Come on." I motioned for him to follow me. We walked side by side.

"So where did you come from?" I asked, trying to stay casual.

"Montana. It's pretty nice up there."

"Really? I heard it was beautiful, not just nice." I laughed softly.

Kai chuckled. "Yes, it is beautiful. So how do things work here at this school?" He changed the subject. I nibbled my lip.

"Well, it's definitely got its fair share of assholes." I said, pointing over to a few groups of jocks. Kai smirked and agreed with me.

We talked a bit more until we got to the gymnasium. The first day was always the day to get your uniforms, lockers and locks. We walked into the gym, already seeing several people hanging out. Juniors and Seniors usually had mixed gym classes together, and I gave a quick look around to see if I could find Chandler. He was a senior, like Skyla.

"Are you looking for someone?" Chandler asked behind me. Both Kai and I turned, and I hid my squeak of joy. Instead, I smiled brightly and hugged him. Then I pulled away and gestured to Kai.

"This is a new guy, Kai. Kai, this is my childhood friend, Chandler."

Almost immediately, Chandler and Kai stared at each other. I had a dark sense of foreboding all of a sudden. "Nice to meet you, Kai." Chandler said dryly, but didn't shake hands with him. Kai didn't seem too happy either, and also refused to shake hands.

"Okay, what is wrong?" I demanded. Chandler wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side, all the while glaring at Kai. A blush found its way onto my cheeks, but I quickly dismissed it. Chandler felt tense.

"Kai is a werewolf." Chandler muttered to me. My eyes widened. Kai smirked at Chandler.

"So nice of you to notice, bloodsucker." Kai teased.

"It's kind of obvious, what with your stink of mutt and all." Chandler hissed underneath his breath.

"I think he smells kind of good…" I mumbled. Chandler let go of me and looked at me in shock. Kai smiled at me. "What? Can't I just be friends with him during school?"

Chandler narrowed his eyes. "If Alexa and Rem found out you were friends with an enemy, you would be in deep shit." he told me. I shrugged.

"I'm only half vamp, remember? What harm could it do?" I pulled away from Chandler and apologized to Kai.

Before Chandler could say anything more, the bell rang. _Hah, take _that _in your face, Chandler. Now you know what it feels like… sort of._

* * *

A/N: Oooohhh this new guy Kai sounds pretty enticing, doesn't he? A dangerous wolf. Rawr!? Please review. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Gym went by quickly. The teacher practically talked the whole period, until she handed out our uniforms -personally ordered by our parents- and then our locks and assigned lockers. Chandler stayed with his group of friends on the opposite side of the gym. He was angry with me.

Finally, the teacher gave us the last five minutes of the period to chat. Kai and I turned to each other. "Is your childhood friend _always_ like that?" Kai asked me, leaning back against the bleachers.

"Not really. Only when he doesn't like someone." I said truthfully.

"I didn't even know you were half vampire. I couldn't smell it on you. All I smell are peach blossoms." he said, eyeing me. I blushed. Did I really smell like that?

"U-uh yeah… Thanks… I guess?" I stuttered, and Kai chuckled.

"So you don't hate me like he?"

"Psh, no. I could care less about the feud between our races. As long as we get along, what bad is there? You know what I mean?"

"Of course. I really find the war between vampires and werewolves tiring. Say, what are you doing after school?" he suddenly questioned. My heart started racing. A hot, sexy guy just asked me that?! Seriously?

"U-um, well… I usually just walk home with my two other childhood friends." I mumbled, fiddling with my pants.

"How about I pick you up then? We could go somewhere to hang out a bit."

My eyes widened. "L-like where?"

"Your choice." he said, smiling that smile again. My heart fluttered like a butterfly. I cursed myself for beginning to get feelings for another guy when I love Chandler.

I thought a moment. "We could go to Cold Stone. They have the best ice cream there!" I told him. Kai laughed.

"Alright, I'll pay then."

The bell rang, and we stood up to head to math. Emery had math with us. I wondered, did shape shifters hate werewolves too? We walked through the halls and to Mr. Aidan's math class. No sooner had we arrived, Emery walked in after us.

His eyes fell on me first, and then drifted to Kai, who was sitting next to me. "Who is this?" he asked calmly, sitting on my opposite side. I quickly introduced them, and Emery sniffed once, and then grimaced. "Won't your dad kill you if he finds out you-"

"-I know! Chandler already gave me that speech." I groaned. Emery rolled eyes his eyes.

"Well it's cool to finally meet a werewolf in person." Emery said to Kai. Oh thank goodness! They would get along!

"Shape shifters, huh? I thought they went extinct awhile ago. Glad to know there are still more." Kai tilted his head in recognition. I smiled at both of them as they started a random conversation about school.

Class started.

*

After second, I showed Kai to his third and fourth, and then went to my own class. None of my friends were in there, so it went by slowly. Then lunch came around, and I sat down with Emery, Nydia and some of their friends. Kai met up with us and I cleared my bags from the seat next to me so he could sit.

"So how did third go?" I asked him, taking a bite of my deli sandwich. He wasn't eating.

"Boring. I suck at art." he said, leaning back casually in his seat and placing his heels against the table. I laughed and then shoved his feet off the table. He sat back up and smirked at me.

"People are eating. Don't put your wolfish feet on the table." I joked. Kai brushed my hair over my face and I got a mouthful of my hair.

We ended up laughing together. I suddenly felt like I knew him really well. Had we become good friends already?

After lunch, we split back up and then saw each other again during fifth. Science was boring as always, and the teacher talked the _whole_ period.

When I thought I was about to die from boredom, the final bell rang, and my heart leapt for joy. Kai and I walked outside together, and I told him I'd be right back. I ran over to Emery and his group. "Hey, I'm going to hang out with Kai for a couple hours. Will you tell my parents I just went to hang out with a _human_ friend, _please_?" I begged.

"As long as Chandler doesn't say anything. It's not me you would have to worry about." Emery said. I smiled. I don't think Chandler would get me in trouble.

"Thanks Em." I hugged him goodbye, but before I turned, he took my wrist.

"Don't do anything you'll regret. Please." He pleaded. I smiled and nodded.

"I promise I wont."

Then I left him with his friends. Kai was standing next to a dark orange-red two-seater car, unlocking it with his key. "Wow!" I gasped. "What kind of car is this?"

Kai pulled open the door, and then unlocked the rest. "A 2010 Chevy Corvette." he said proudly. I jumped into the passengers seat, and admired the leather. There were large speakers too, and I smiled widely. He climbed into the drivers seat and started it, the engine rumbling beneath us.

"This is awesome!" I giggled happily, touching the dashboard. He batted my hands away.

"Careful, don't want your vampirish fingerprints all over." he mocked me.

I feigned being offended. "I'm only _half_, remember?"

Kai sniggered and then pulled out of the driveway. My eyes fell on the back of Chandler's head in front of us. He was beside Skyla's car, kissing her. My heart hurt for a moment, but then…Shit! If he saw me, who knows what he would do! I ducked underneath the window, hiding from view. Kai cast me a side glance, and then his eyes fell on Chandler.

When we exited the parking lot, I sat back up and heaved a heavy sigh. "That was close. I'm glad he didn't see me."

"Whose his cute girlfriend?" Kai asked. I gaped at him. No! Not another one! Kai noticed my reaction and laughed in response. "I'm kidding. You obviously don't like her."

I nodded, feeling glum. "Of course. She took the only guy I love. Well…not exactly took.. Because she had him first…" I started feeling the burn of tears in the back of my throat and eyes. Kai pulled into the parking lot of Cold Stone, which was only a couple blocks from the school, and then turned the car off to look at me. I was looking out the window, holding back my tears, but I saw his reflection staring at me.

"You love Chandler?" he asked softly. I bit my lip and forced a smile as I turned to him.

"It doesn't matter. They have no plan of breaking up anytime soon. So, shall we go?" I chirped, pushing away my pain.

Kai stared at me for a long time, and then rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I don't know how girls can keep such pain hidden. Let's go."

We climbed out of the car, and Kai gently took my elbow to lead me into the small ice cream store. His skin felt hot compared to the already warm weather, and it made my insides like butter.

I ordered my favorite, strawberry shortcake, and he bought himself a smoothie with a bunch of different things in it. We sat down at a table in the far corner, away from everybody else.

"I can't believe you didn't get ice cream!" I gasped, taking another large bite of my own. Kai sipped on his smoothie, and smiled.

"Taste it, it's just as delicious as the ice cream." he handed me his drink, and I hesitantly took a drink from the straw. Wow, it was good.

"Hah! Now I have both! You can't have either!" I laughed, and held my ice cream and the smoothie close to me. Kai leaned forward to grab it, but I tipped back in my chair and stuck my tongue out at him.

Kai's face went serious. "I _dare_ you to do that again." he warned.

"What? This?" I stuck my tongue out again, and he was suddenly out of his chair silently and beside me. I squeaked and pulled my tongue back in my mouth. He smirked and grabbed his smoothie, setting it on the table before leaning down next to my face.

I stared at him with wide eyes. What was he going to do?! His face went closer to mine, and I found myself entranced with his beautiful dusk eyes. Suddenly there was a loud smack, and we both turned slightly. Chandler had his hand on the table, and he was glaring furiously at Kai. Damn it, I was caught!

"Get the hell away from her, mutt." he hissed in a whisper, so no one would overhear him. Was Chandler jealous?!

Kai didn't move away, instead, he did the exact opposite. He licked the side of my mouth. Chandler pulled back in shock, and I felt really hot again. "She had some ice cream there." Kai replied. Then he pulled away and took his drink. "Looks like I'll see you tomorrow, right Ren?" he used my nickname purposely.

I could only nod in response. He smiled down at me, running a hand through my short hair, and then he left the store. I stared after him, breathless and speechless. Chandler grabbed my forearm then, and yanked me up from my seat.

"Ow!" I complained in protest. Him and his stupid vampire strength! His grip loosened a bit, but he pulled me out and to Skyla's car. Chandler didn't like driving his to school, because it attracted too much attention. I'll just say it was really, really new and rare.

Skyla was sitting in the driver's seat, so I was shoved into the back. She looked over at me with an apologetic face. Chandler climbed into the passengers seat. Then as soon as we started driving back to my house, Chandler turned on me.

"Are you insane?!" he began, "Werewolves are vampires mortal enemies! He could have been plotting to kill you!"

I was taken back. My eyes flickered to Skyla, who was intent on ignoring us, but I knew she was listening anyway. Then I glared at Chandler. " Plotting to kill me? At least he actually acted like I was a person!" I snapped. Chandler was the one who was surprised this time.

"What are you talking about?!"

"The fact that in the past three years you've been so obsessed with your girlfriend, you barely talk to me anymore!"

Skyla looked at me in shock through the rearview mirror. Chandler narrowed his eyes. "That isn't true!"

"Really?! When was the last time we actually _hung_ out?! As friends?!" I could feel the tears began to pool up. Chandler paused a moment to think. I could see the sudden guilt in his eyes. We parked in my driveway, but nobody made a move to get out.

"Look, I'm sorry, but please, just stay away from Kai. It's-"

"Dangerous? Stupid? I get it. Just shut up Chandler! I _don't _want to talk to _you_. You don't know me." I bit out, the tears running down my face. I opened the car door and slammed it shut behind me. I ran to my house, feeling like an immature idiot. When I burst inside, Liam was by the hallway, and he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but I swept by him too fast. My mom was in the kitchen, so I ran up the stairs to my room, thankful I didn't have to meet her.

When I got into my room, I shut my door, locked it, and collapsed on the bed, finally letting my tears out after two years. I hadn't thought it be possible to avoid crying that long. After around five minutes, my tears let up a bit, and I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" I asked weakly. My voice was parched and shaky.

"It's Emery." the voice said softly. I slowly sat up, feeling dizzy, and then unlocked my door. He walked in, and when he saw me, his eyes widened.

"Jeez, you look like you haven't slept in years." he said, but shut the door behind him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me back to my bed. "Alright, tell me what happened."

So I did. I told him everything from when I left school to when I got home. He listened quietly the whole time. After I finished, I was dry crying. He sighed and pulled me against his chest, stroking my soft hair.

He had always been supportive. He was like a brother to me. I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat. "Ren…" he muttered against my hair. I felt tired, so I slowly let myself began to drift to sleep. "I love you. More then a sister."

I couldn't comprehend the words. They sounded like an echo in my dreams to me. I was already asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning when I walked downstairs, dressed and stomach growling for breakfast, Emery and Nydia were having a quiet conversation at the table. There was bacon, scrambled eggs and sausage sitting on the stove just waiting to be eaten.

"Hey guys." I greeted, grabbing a plate and some food.

"Hi." Emery replied. I looked back at him and he was eating quietly What was wrong with him?

"Mornin'!" Nydia said, but also went back to eating. Okay, _something_ was up. I sat down with my plate and started eating, watching both of them carefully. They didn't spare me a glance. Instead, the stared at their food as they ate.

"Morning sunshine!" Tayte said, appearing at the kitchen door. I cast him a glare, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Why are you here at this time?!" I growled.

"The door was unlocked, sheesh! I'm driving you guys to school!" he said happily, as if he'd just won a marathon.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, whatever. You have to wait until we're done eating."

Tayte plopped down in a chair beside me and -waited. By the time we were done and rinsed our dishes, I shot upstairs quickly to brush my teeth after Nydia and Emery. "Alright! Let's go!" I said, grabbing my bag.

We walked outside, Tayte spinning his key ring around on his finger. Before we got to the car, however, a red-orange car pulled up to the driveway, and my jaw dropped. It was Kai! He smiled at me through the windshield and motioned for me to get in. I looked back at Tayte, who was shocked.

"You're giving _them_ a ride." I laughed, and then hopped in the passengers seat.

"How are you on this fine, warm morning?" Kai asked, pulling out of my driveway.

"Tired, of course. Hey, how did you know where I lived?" I suddenly asked, realization setting in.

"I was just driving by and saw you." Kai answered, and I nodded slowly. "How did it go after I left?"

I grimaced, remembering my argument with Chandler. "I-it -uh… Didn't go well. We got into a fight about me hanging out with you." I mumbled against my hand as I leaned against the arm rest.

Kai glanced over at me from the corner of his eye. "It was my fault. I'm sorry." he replied softly. I looked at him with big eyes.

"No! It wasn't your fault! It was _my_ choice to hang out with you." I gasped. Kai gave me a half smile and then we parked in the school parking lot. My eyes fell on Chandler, who was just jumping out of Skyla's car with her. I didn't bother to duck down this time. His eyes traveled to me, and I glared at him.

Instantly he looked away, grabbing Skyla's hand and continued walking. I sighed and let my head fall back against the headrest. "I have an idea." Kai suddenly mentioned. My head shot up and I looked at him. "Though it's kind of immature and middle school."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Want to put on a show and make him jealous?" he suggested, his lips tilting in a smirk.

"He wouldn't get jealous. He doesn't like me." I muttered. "The only reason he was angry was because I'm hanging out with a werewolf. He was probably just protecting me as a brother."

Kai watched me as I climbed out of the car. He followed after and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then. How about you and I just date then?" he asked, walking beside me after locking his car.

My eyes widened. "To attempt to make him jealous?!"

Kai chuckled. "No, Ren. Because I like you… a _lot_." he muttered against my hair. I faltered in my walking and almost tripped. He wrapped an arm around me and held me against his chest. I stared up at him with large eyes.

He smiled down at me and raised his eyebrows. "So? What do you say?" he asked kissing my cheek where he had licked me the day before.

I bit my lip, and with striking heat I noticed his eyes followed my movements. "I-I… Only if you let me watch you transform." I said slyly. His eyes glittered in silent laughs.

"Deal. After school today? In the forest behind the school?"

I nodded, smiling bigger then ever. I pushed Chandler to the back of my mind for the day as we walked to class together, his arm around my waist. Gym was probably the worst period. Chandler walked by me without even acknowledging me, and there was this group of senior girls who constantly kept staring at Kai, and believe it or not -I was jealous.

Though I had to admit, both Kai and Chandler looked hot in the gym uniforms. "Alright class! Today we're starting off with badminton, just to get warmed up!" the teacher shouted over the crowd. "Choose a partner!"

I groaned. "I hate sports." I muttered. "These are the closest we get to team sports."

Kai laughed and put an arm over my shoulders. "It's okay. Leave it all up to the dog." he whispered in my ear. I laughed softly as we grabbed our rackets and a ball. We went against two girls, who sucked at the game. Though Kai and I had tons of fun beating the crap out of them by points.

Class went by so fast. The teacher dismissed us to go change back into our clothes. "Good game, Ren!" Kai laughed, smacking my hand in a high five. I agreed and walked to the girls locker room.

Not much longer had I finished dressing, the same group of girls who were staring at Kai surrounded me. "Hey nerd. What's the new hot guy doing hanging out with you?" one of them demanded. I figured her to be the "leader". I couldn't walk away, because they had me cornered against the lockers. All the other girls walked past me, not bothering to help me.

"I don't have a clue." I muttered in reply, turning to push through two of the girls. They laughed malevolently and then grabbed my arms and shoved me back against the lockers. I hissed in pain when my head knocked against the metal.

"Well, we're going to make it so that he wont be able to look at your pretty face_ ever_ again." the leader said, and then raised her fist.

_Shit!_ If there was only one girl I'd be able to fight her off easily! But five?! Her fist came at me at full force. I gasped and managed to shove against one of the girls holding my arms, just enough to move my face. Her fist slammed into the locker and she screeched in pain, pulling back and cradling her knuckles. Wow, what a wimp.

"You little bitch!" one of the girls holding me snarled, and slapped me faster and harder then I had expected. I felt the metallic tang of my blood as my lip split. The taste stung my throat in a strange, pleasant way, and I suddenly felt angry. I scowled back up at the girl who had slapped me. She stared at me with wide eyes.

"You're going to regret that." I warned in a low voice. I ripped my arm out of both the girls' grasps, and they gasped and reeled backwards. Before I could launch myself at them though, I heard Skyla shout,

"Stop!"

I froze in place, and swished my head to look at the familiar redhead running towards us. Instantly the girls around me backed away. Skyla glared at them, and then took my by the arm, dragging me out of the locker room as I grabbed my bag.

"What do you think you were doing?" she whispered to me as we exited the room. I saw Kai standing at the end of the hallway, waiting for me. His eyes widened when he saw my face.

I knew there was a bruise forming on my cheek. It would heal in a matter of hours though, thanks to my small amount of vampire blood. Several other students stared at me as we walked by.

"It wasn't my fault." I growled to Skyla. I _really_ didn't want to see her right now. Thankfully Chandler wasn't around. That would worsen my mood.

"Well, just be careful! Next time call for help!" she told me, and let me go. With one last glance at us, she turned and walked away. I'm glad she didn't have anything to say about yesterday.

"You okay?" Kai asked me softly, touching my cheek. I winced as the slight pressure applied made it sore. He dropped his hand and grabbed mine, entwining our fingers.

"I think I'll be okay. Just control me during second period in case I want to tear someone's face off." I muttered darkly. Kai gave a short laugh.

"Well then, how about we skip the rest of the day?" he asked. I looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Skip? I've never skipped school before." I told him. The bell suddenly rang.

Kai glanced down at me and raised an eyebrow. "Skipping, or walking in class late and facing Mr. Aidan's wrath?" he mused.

I laughed, and pulled him towards the exit. "Let's go to that forest."

*

The sunlight lit up the forest through cracks, lighting our way as we walked to a clearing, where the sun shined brightly. "So how do you wolves do this kind of stuff?" I asked, sitting against a tree. Kai put a finger to my lips and smiled.

"You can either turn around or continue watching." he told me.

He pulled back a couple yards, and started stripping. "What are you doing?!" I squealed in shock. He laughed and threw his shirt at me. It hit my face and I laughed along with him. I used his shirt to cover my face as I heard him unzip his jeans.

"Okay, you ready?" he asked. I peeked over the shirt, which smelled like a mouthwatering forest. He was only wearing his boxers. I giggled, and he raised his eyes at me.

"I'm ready!" I said, admiring his body. He was built and beautiful, and I couldn't believe that Chandler hadn't popped into my mind to make me feel guilty. Was I really starting to like Kai?

Then before my eyes, he bent over a bit, and within seconds, claws and fangs protruded, soft, gleaming dark brown fur grew on his body. My breath caught in my throat when his boxers ripped and in Kai's place was a giant wolf, with shining blue eyes. He was _huge_. Three times the size of a normal wolf. And he was beautiful too.

Kai-wolf turned to me, and growled softly. I slowly stood up, setting his shirt aside, and made my way to him. He watched me silently. His head came to my chin. I hesitantly reached out to touch his muzzle, and he lifted his nose so my hand touched him. I laughed softly, and ran my hand through his fur, up to his ears. Dogs love being pet behind the ears, right?!

I smirked slyly, and I could have sworn his eyes widened a bit. I moved my hands behind his ears and softly scratched there. His fur was clean and smooth, not rough like a regular dogs fur. He made a growl that sounded halfway between a breath and a hiss, and then leaned against me. I used my other hand to hold in a giggle that threatened to escape my lips.

Then suddenly, he transformed back into the human form of Kai, and I blushed instantly, pulling my hands away when I realized -he was naked. I turned away to go grab his shirt, but his arms wrapped around me, pulling me flush against his chest.

_Oh. My. God. _I thought wildly, feeling every part of his anatomy on my backside. He leaned in next to my ear. "That was cruel." he muttered, nipping the skin underneath my ear. I could feel his still sharp teeth scrape along my earlobe, and I gasped.

Was this supposed to happen?! I felt his warm hands slide underneath my shirt, but before they could get to my breasts, we heard a low growl. Both of us instantly looked up in surprise.

Tayte was standing beside our school stuff, with a murderous glare appointed to both of us. "Oh my -Tayte!" I cried out, pushing away from Kai. I glanced back at Kai with scared eyes, and he was covering himself with his jeans now. He glared right back at Tayte. This was _not_ supposed to happen! It all went wrong! I'm so busted!

"Get your ass over here _now_. Your father wants to see you." Tayte said lowly, between gritted teeth.

* * *

A/N: Uh oh! What's going to happen to Karen now?! :O


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I love you all!

* * *

The ride home was silent. I could _feel_ Tayte's anger just rolling off of him in giant waves of fire. When we parked in my driveway, Tayte unbuckled me and then himself.

"I'm sorry. I never-"

"Save it." he snapped, getting out of the car. He walked around to my side, and opened my door, grabbing my arm and pulling me out. He didn't let go of me until we were inside of my house.

When we got to the table, I was shocked to see my dad, mom, Chandler, Emery, Liam, Calixto, Jelani, Lucas and Autumn sitting at the large dining table. When we walked in, all eyes settled on me -angrily.

Great, they _had_ to call everybody. At least they didn't call Elder Talon. Things would get messy. Tayte sat me down in the chair across from my father and beside Liam and my mom. Chandler was across from Liam, next to dad.

Tayte stayed behind my chair, keeping me from escaping. I stared down at the table, my heart pounding rapidly. I was _so_ busted.

"Do you have any clue how much you scared us?! Emery left school early to call us and say you skipped second." My mom said, laying a hand on my shoulder. I bit my lip to keep from angrily lashing out at her.

"You're lucky we didn't call Talon. We decided to keep this secret from him for now." My dad said, reading my mind.

"So what do you know?" I hissed, looking up at dad with a scowl.

He leaned back in his seat and ran a hand over his face. "You've been with a werewolf." he muttered.

"So? Kai isn't mean! He wouldn't betray me! He thinks the stupid war between our races is pathetic!" I hissed, leaning toward my dad.

Dad leaned toward me as well. "Do you have _any_ clue how dangerous any werewolf is?! Their tempers exceed a vampires', and not to mention what they did to us hundreds of years ago to _start_ this stupid war!"

I glared at him. "Why does that matter?! If it was hundreds of years ago, what does that have to do with Kai?!"

My moms hand tightened on my shoulder. "Do you know why we hate werewolves so much as a family?" she asked me softly.

I shook my head. "I don't understand any of this!"

"Other then the fact I found him naked and about to rip off your clothes in the forest?!" Tayte snarled behind me, gripping my shoulders. My eyes widened. I can't believe he just said that! Tayte was the only mind my dad couldn't read because of some wall in his brain, and he just said it out loud!

I heard several of my family gasp, and my dads eyes widened considerably. Then he got angry. He stood up, his claws digging into the table. "What?!" he growled.

Damn. And I had been doing a good job not thinking about Kai and his body parts pressing against me. "I-It was an accident. It wasn't meant to go that far! All I w-wanted was to see him transform!" I stuttered.

Before my father could retort, Tayte filled in for me. "Are you doing this because you're angry that Chandler doesn't love you back?!"

Everything went quiet at the table, and my angry expression dropped to be shocked. No. _No_! How could he have said that!? In front of _Chandler_… my eyes slowly met Chandler's.

His own eyes were wide too. He stared at me, and I felt the tears cascade down my cheeks. I was _not_ about to start crying in front of him. Not any of them! I shot up from my seat, spinning and shoving Tayte away from me. I ran up to my room, slamming the door so forcefully behind me it rattled the hinges.

I sat on my bed and cried, not caring if anybody heard me. Why did Tayte say that?! Was he angry as well, because he couldn't get my love?! What the hell?! I laid down, pulling my blankets up over my head, not caring if I was still dressed in jeans and my sneakers.

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep.

*

I woke up to a faint clapping against my window. I pulled the covers off of me, looking around my room. It was dark. I looked out the window and realized I had slept the day away. Suddenly a rock hit the window, tapping loudly against the glass.

I quickly got up, and stared out my window. Kai was just picking up another rock, but stopped when he saw me. He smiled up at me from the grass, and my heart leapt into my throat. He came for me?!

I opened my window. "What are you doing?! What if someone smells you?!" I whispered loudly.

He smirked up at me. "I wanted to see if you're okay."

I frowned. "Well, my family life is ruined, and I don't think Chandler and I will ever speak again."

He frowned, but then opened his arms. "Jump. I'll catch you."

My eyes widened. "Are you insane?!"

He laughed quietly, and motioned for my to hurry up. I noticed he was wearing something different. He was wearing a red and black scarf, and all black clothes. I smiled widely, and put a finger up to tell him to hold on.

I turned, grabbing my black and white scarf that looked similar to Kai's, and wrapped it around my head and half of my face. That way maybe they wouldn't notice it was me if they saw me. Hopefully.

I looked back out my window and Kai laughed at me. "You look like a ninja." he acknowledged, and my own laugh was muffled against the scarf.

"Yeah, one that's about to fall to her death." I muttered against the fabric. Kai rolled his eyes and then opened his arms again. "You better catch me, or else I'm cutting off your tail when you transform." I threatened. Kai's eyes widened and he shook his head, motioning for me to jump.

_Okay. Two story jump for a half vampire girl whose clumsier than ever. Here she goes. Jumping into a werewolves arms, just hoping he'll catch her_. I thought dramatically, and then lifted my legs through my window. I took a deep breath, and pushed myself away from my window.

Not too soon after I felt gravity take its toll, I was caught bridle style by Kai. I stared up at him in surprise. He smirked down at me, and kissed my forehead. "So do I get to keep my tail?" he asked, turning and walking away from my house. He was carrying me like I weighed nothing.

"That depends." I snickered, pulling the scarf from my face so I could talk normally.

"On?"

"Where we're going."

Kai chuckled. "Just around. I know you don't want to stay cooped up in your room all night since you already slept the day away."

"How did you know?" I asked. Kai looked down at me like I was an idiot.

"Because I could smell you in your room, and your heartbeat was slow, so I figured you were sleeping. Duh."

Oh. Wow, did I feel like an idiot or what?

I laughed against his chest. I noticed we were walking through a large, neat alleyway, and along the walls were graffiti. He set me down, and pointed up to the stars. Everything was dark except for the street lamp just a couple yards away. I looked up, and my eyes widened.

Smack dab in the middle of the sky was a full moon, and the only stars were the ones that were light-years away from it, jus barely shining against the intensity of the moon. It was then I realized the light wasn't from a streetlamp, it was from the moon.

"So what does a full moon mean to you?" I asked, leaning back against the wall.

Kai smiled. "I'm supposed to turn into a flesh eating monster right about now." he joked. I playfully hit his arm and he growled lightly in response. He changed the subject. "So I take it your parents want to kill me?"

"Probably my whole family and some of my friends, yeah." I muttered. Kai sighed and leaned his shoulder against the wall right beside me. I stared across the way at the opposite side of the alley. I stared at the graffiti, where it formed a bunch of squiggly letters that I couldn't read.

"Your eyes and skin shine in the moonlight." Kai suddenly muttered. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Really? Does it make me prettier?" I asked. Kai went serious.

"Prettier? You were already beautiful. But now you're _stunning_." he whispered to me, and pushed himself off of the wall to stand in front of me. I watched his movements with wide eyes. Those butterflies in my stomach were returning.

His hands went to my hips, and he pressed himself against me so that I was flush between him and the wall behind me. I suddenly forgot how to breath. He chuckled, and then lifted me off the ground. I gasped and subconsciously wrapped my legs around his waist.

His hands gripped my ass, keeping me from falling. _Wow_. This was _really _intimate. Was this what it felt like to be so close to someone? I licked my lips, staring into his blue eyes. But he wasn't looking at me. His eyes watched my tongue, and then he leaned forward.

My brain started spinning in several directions. One side screamed, _Chandler! Think of Chandler!_ But the other side kept telling me to lean in for the kiss and forget about the vampire. Before I could listen to either side, Kai's warm, soft lips met mine, and I melted against him instantly.

My first kiss.

It was when I felt him smirk against my lips that I heard the low, guttural growl. It wasn't a vampire this time. I pulled away from Kai and looked around us in shock.

"Oh…wha…What the hell?!" I cried out. There were at least five other wolves surrounding us.

Kai pulled back, dropping me onto my feet, but he kept his hands on each side of my head against the wall, trapping me. "Didn't you know, Ren? Wolves travel in packs." he said innocently.

My eyes widened, and my breath quickened. Was I wrong? Had I completely ignored everyone's warnings?! I glanced around with shocked eyes as all the wolves slowly came towards us, their glowing eyes staring at me.

"K-Kai… This isn't funny. Please stop." I begged, pushing against his chest.

Kai snickered. "This is hilarious. You know Ren, if you didn't have Rem's golden eyes and instead had gray ones, you'd look exactly like Evelyn." he ran a warm hand down my cheek and I flinched backing surprise.

Evelyn?! "Who is that?!" I gasped.

Kai's eyebrows went up. "You mean daddy and mommy never told you?" he asked sarcastically. He pulled away from me and smirked at me. What?! What was he talking about? Was he _really _a bad guy?!

"Never mind that. Your family is going to pay for killing my mate."

* * *

A/N: I'm going to put up pictures of the Entwined Souls characters on my profile. So check them out?


	6. Chapter 6

Now I felt stupid and immature. Why hadn't I listened to everyone? Why did I think a vampires natural enemy would suddenly be caring and sweet? Right, because I'm naïve, weak, and stupid. Just plain _stupid_. I glared at Kai in front of me.

"You used me!" I hissed, raising my hand to slap him. A wolf snarled in protest, and leaped beside me, snapping its jaws. I gasped and pulled away from it, falling on my ass. _Shit! I had almost just been dog kibble_!

I could feel another wolf breathing on my neck from behind; its horridly hot breath burning my skin. But I couldn't move anywhere else. I was trapped between two transformed wolves, Kai, and a stupid traitorous wall.

Kai chuckled sinisterly. He bent down to my level, grasping my chin with his thumb and fingers. If looks could kill, I probably would have sliced him to pieces now. My glare was focused on him like ice cold daggers.

"Sweetheart, we wont hurt you if you obey me. And after this is all done, maybe I might just take you as mine. You smell much better then Evelyn did. But of course," he drawled, "she _was _a _full _bloodsucker."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." I said, rolling my eyes.

Kai smirked. "Take it as a compliment."

I narrowed my eyes again. "I trusted you." I whispered. Kai snorted.

"You've known me for a couple of days. How could you?" he laughed.

This time, I resisted the urge to break his nose. Instead, I opened my mouth. "_Chandler_!" I screamed. Kai's eyes widened and he winced from the all the octaves I just broke though.

"Bitch!" but then he paused, and smirked. "I can't exactly call you that, considering you aren't a dog. But anyway, you're going to regret that."

He then grabbed a handful of my short hair and yanked me up to stand. I cried out from the pain. He kept a hold of me as he turned to his comrades. "Who's willing to carry this filthy half breed?"

I gave a low growl. He ignored me. Finally a wolf from the crowd stepped forward and transformed. I gasped and quickly shut my eyes when I saw he was naked. "Put some clothes on, Chakor." I heard Kai say. I opened my eyes hesitantly as I saw Kai pull out a pair of shorts from his jacket and toss them to the werewolf. Hah, funny.

He was planning this.

After the wolf, Chakor, pulled on the shorts, I looked up to see him coming toward me. I snarled at him, and he glared at me. He had short, spiky dirty-blonde hair and dark eyes. Across the right side of his face were two scars in the shape of claws. His chest was just as built as Kai's had been.

"Come on Halfling." he muttered, grabbing me by the arms. Kai let go of my hair and at the same time, I shot my head forward and rammed my forehead against Chakor's nose. I heard a _crack_, and then he let go of me, screaming in pain. I took that chance to pivot, and with every vampire cell in my body, ran as fast as I could out of the alleyway.

I hadn't even made it past the sidewalk before a heard a loud howl, and then I was tackled to the ground from behind. I also felt the searing hot pain of claws digging into my shoulders at the same time. Whoever had me pinned was transformed into a wolf and _heavy_.

I tried to breath and call for help, but nobody was around and I couldn't say anything. I tried to scream again, but the wolf slashed his claws across my back. The pain was so intense that I blacked out.

*

Chains were wrapped around my wrists, holding me against the wall with only enough slack for me to move a couple feet from the wall. I was laying down on my stomach, my cheek pressed against the cold stone floor. And my back was screaming in pain.

That was how I woke up.

"Ugh…" I mumbled, trying to sit up. My head was pounding and I felt dirty. I could feel my blood dried against my back and sticking to my ripped up shirt. I tried to remember what had happened before, and groaned in agony.

That was right. I had been betrayed by Kai and then I attempted to escape, only ending up with a back full of wolf gashes and a high amount of blood loss. I turned onto my side to pull myself into a sitting position. I winced when I moved up, my back tightening in objection.

"Feeling better?" a low, sensual voice asked. I looked up in fear, seeing a man step from the shadows. It looked like we were in a dungeon, but he looked pleasantly fine and satisfied.

The only light came from the few candles lit up around me. I looked at him, deciding whether or not he was a vamp or a wolf. He had lightly tanned skin, with red eyes and reddish-brown hair that was tied at the base of his skull in a pony-tail. He smirked down at me, and I glared at him.

"Who are you?" I hissed, my voice cracking.

He didn't reply. Instead he kneeled down before me, and studied me. "Well, you certainly _do_ look like Alexa and Rem's daughter. And I _am_ sure you could look like Evelyn if you had her smoky eyes." he pondered a loud.

"Who is this Evelyn chick?!" I demanded.

The stranger frowned. "So Kaius was right. I'll just say that Evelyn was a bitchy witch who was turned into a vampire. She was your mothers great, great, great something or another grandmother."

My eyes widened. "_Was_?" I asked, wondering about his past tense. Was Evelyn the mate of Kai's that my family had killed?

"She was murdered by Lucas." Blade sighed.

Lucas killed someone?! I almost couldn't believe it. "So what does this have to do with _me?_" I inquired, moving forward a bit, but wincing as I did so. Wow, my back hurt like a bitch.

"You're being used as bait. Kai is smarter than Evelyn was, and thought ahead. He has a whole army of wolves out there, so I wouldn't doubt it if he killed some of your friends or family."

"What?!" I cried out. They were going to war?!

"You heard me." he said, irritated. I held in a string of obscenities.

"So then who are you? What place do you take in this?!"

He smiled, though it was fake. "I'm your uncle."

I froze, completely forgetting the excruciating pain of my back. "M-my uncle?" I managed to say.

"I'm your father's brother. Bladen. But call me Blade." he held out his hand, and I glared at it. Then he looked at my chained wrists and laughed harshly. "Oh, right. Forgot you were currently _tied_ up."

"Why are you doing this?! If you're my uncle, shouldn't you be _helping_ me?!" I jeered.

Blade thought a moment, studying his fingernails. "I'll think about it. For now, you have a visitor. I'll see you later." he smirked at me, and then disappeared into the shadows. I heard a door screech open, and then a small light come from the top of a staircase in front of me. I saw Blade leave, and then Kai stepped in. He shut the door behind him, and the darkness engulfed him.

He stepped into the dank light of the candles and frowned down at me. I couldn't help but grimace. Kai was the one who I had started to like and trust. But now when I looked at him, I felt disgusting. I had given this stupid mongrel my first kiss.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, as if nothing had ever happened between us.

I stared at him, shocked at his audacity. "Oh, I don't know," I started mockingly, "first, this guy tricks me into dating him and liking him, second, he nearly kills me, and third, he's using me to get to my family."

Kai snarled. "Who said I was the one who attacked you?"

"It's not like it matters!" I retorted. "Your _stupid_ mutts follow your every order."

Kai slapped me. It wasn't as hard as the girl had hit me, but it was enough to make my cheek sting. He then grabbed me chin and kissed the spot he hit. I was astonished. What was wrong with him?

"I don't like it when you get ugly marks on your face." he whispered, as if reading my mind.

I spluttered, "Y-you're the on who slapped me!"

"Hm. It's to put you in your place. I'm the alpha here." he murmured to me, and licked my cheek. No matter how much I _hated_ him right now, his warm tongue still sent shivers down my spine.

His lips met mine, but I quickly snapped my mouth shut to keep his tongue from entering my mouth. He growled warningly, the noise reverberating. That was when I realized my legs were free. I mentally laughed scornfully, and then brought my leg up between his legs…_hard_.

He yanked away from me and rolled onto the floor, howling in pain and growling ferociously, holding his groin. "Now who's the alpha?! _Asshole_!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the dungeon.

He let out a raspy cough, and then sat up slowly, wincing in pain. "You probably just made me unable to have babies." he laughed malevolently. I couldn't believe him. He was joking around!

His finally stood up, using the wall, and walked back over to me. I cautiously leaned back, putting my legs in front of me. He lifted his lip up in a snarl, and grabbed my ankles quicker then my mind could comprehend. I cried out when he yanked me towards him, my already torn up back sliding across the hard floor. I felt a warm liquid flowing against my back, and I knew he had just reopened my wounds.

He crawled on top of me, holding my legs down with his knees. His hands went around my throat, but not tightening. They rested there, as his fingers stroked the nape of my neck. My breathing had turned into panting.

I was _scared_ shitless. I really, really regretted not listening to dad or Chandler. Kai sniffed the air and smirked down at me. "You're bleeding again. How disappointing." he mumbled, and then moved off of my slightly. I tried to kick, but he was too fast, and spun me to lay on my stomach. He sat on the back of my knees, and held my wrists down to the floor with his hands.

"What are you doing?!" I gasped, as he used his teeth to tear off the rest of my shirt. The fabric fell beside me, only covering my front with the floor now.

"I'm doing something nice and closing your wounds." he told me. I was confused.

"Closing my wounds? So now you're being nice?!" I hissed, trying to shift and push against him to get him off of me.

"I _do_ like you. The only problem is your vampire family. I think I could live with you being half vampire." he muttered against my back, and then I felt his tongue slide over the deep gashes in my back. It stung and felt good at the same time.

I closed my eyes tightly and bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from crying. "I don't like you anymore." I mumbled against the cold, hard floor. "I love Chandler. He's going to kill you."

Kai chuckled against my back, but didn't reply. I was forced to wait until he finished licking my wounds clean. It wasn't too long afterwards when I felt the pain start to subside.

"Hopefully your vampire blood will take away those ugly scars." He sighed, and got off of me. I quickly turned and sat up, surprised when I felt no pain.

"W-hat did you do?" I breathed.

"Werewolf saliva has healing properties." he replied, and wiped the sides of his mouth as if my blood had stained him.

Suddenly the familiar screeching of the dungeon door opening snapped both of our attention to the top of the staircase. A woman stood at the top.

"Kaius?" she called. Kai turned.

"What?"

"The vampires are here. They brought an elder." she said quickly. Kai cursed, but then turned to me, smirking.

"Now it's your turn." he said, and then pulled out a large key from his pocket. He carefully walked to me, and unlocked the chains from my wrists. I was unaware that my shirt was just barely hanging onto my front until he picked me up around the waist. The remnants of my shirt fell to the floor, and I gasped in surprise. All I was wearing was my bra now.

"C-can't I get a shirt?!" I begged, as he started to drag me up the stairs.

"Not enough time. You can wear my shirt." At the top of the stairs, he handed me to the woman, who glared at me, before holding my arms tightly from behind. I was half tempted to slam my head backwards to smash into her face, but I thought better against it this time.

Kai unbuttoned his sweater and threw it at me. I grabbed it and fumbled to put it on. The woman buttoned it for me, quickly, before Kai grabbed me by the hair and started to drag me after him. "Ow! Can't you hold onto my wrist or something?!" I wheezed in pain.

He ignored me, but instead grabbed the scruff of the sweater I was wearing and continued to pulled me through the halls. From all the ancient looking objects, I would have guessed we were in a castle.

"So what exactly do _I_ have to do now?!" I demanded.

Kai stopped walking at a large iron door and turned to a younger looking boy. "Tell them to release the wolves." he ordered.

"Yes sir." the boy nodded, and turned to leave through revolving doors at the opposite side of the room.

Oh no. They _were_ going to war. "W-why does this have to happen now?! Why can't you forget about this Evelyn chick?! Revenge makes you ugly!" I insisted, as Kai used his free hand to unlock the giant bolt on the iron door.

He cast me a side glare, before opening the door. It was daylight. Beyond the door looked like a large, cobblestone balcony. We stepped out and I looked over the edge of the balcony wall. I gasped.

Beneath us, my family and friends and Lord Talon was facing a large group of ferocious looking wolves. No one had made a move to attack yet.

I leaned over the wall, but Kai kept a good grip on the back of the sweater, nearly choking me. "_Mom! Dad! Chandler!_" I yelled loudly. They all looked up, surprised.

"Karen!" My mom cried out. Her hands flew over her mouth in shock to see Kai standing next to me.

"You can't fight them! There are hundreds of them! These wolves are just the beginning! He has an army! It's revenge against killing Evelyn!" I shouted. I winced when Kai put his hand at the pressure points in my neck and squeezed.

"You said way too much, my soon-to-be bitch." he whispered into my ear.


	7. Chapter 7

"If you like me so much, then show it!" I hissed, turning on my heel to face Kai. "Don't kill my family! Please!"

Kai studied me a moment and then smirked. "How about this, then. We make a deal. If you stay mine, we can go on normally as if nothing ever happened, and your family wont be hurt or killed."

My eyes widened. How could I possible stay with him?! But I didn't have time to think about it. I wanted my family to stay safe. "F-fine. Why couldn't you have made that deal with me earlier?!" I hissed.

Kai smirked. "To show you I'm being serious."

He actually had a point.

He put up his hand to the group of wolves, and I watched as they backed away from the vampires. I let out a heavy breath to know that they were safe. Kai looked down at my family.

"Your daughter has made a deal with me. She stays mine, and you will all stay safe. That is the only way I'll keep a peace treaty."

"You fucking bastard." I heard Tayte snarl. I looked over and my eyes landed on Chandler. He wasn't glaring at all. In fact, he looked worried. My father looked like he could kill someone, and my mom was almost in tears. Emery looked quite angry as well.

"Don't fret. We can all still go to lovely school. But all of you vampires will keep your hands off of her. Got it?"

Nobody made a sound. Kai snorted. "I'll take that as a yes." he leaned down towards me. "You can go home tonight, I guess. But I'll see you at school tomorrow, baby."

And with that, he planted a firm kiss on my lips… and shoved me back. I didn't have time to scream as I fell over the balcony. When I thought I was going to die, someone caught me. I looked up to see my dad glaring down at me. I gave a nervous laugh.

"I'm grounded for the rest of my life, aren't I?" I asked shakily, and then started crying like a big baby.

*

I laid on my stomach, my cheek against my moms lap as my dad and Autumn cleaned my back free of any leftover blood, and bandaged whatever Kai hadn't healed. They had ripped up Kai's sweater and ensured it would never return from its place in the garbage. I kept a blanket wrapped around my front, so that Talon, Tayte, Lucas, Chandler -ah hell. _Everyone_ wouldn't see my breasts.

Though modesty wasn't even the thing on anyone's mind right now -other then mine. Because of _course_ Chandler, Tayte and Emery were in the room, and I felt pretty self-conscious about it.

Talon was talking on the phone with another elder, whose name I think was Giselle. I couldn't hear what they were saying. Calixto, Jelani and Lucas were talking softly to one another, obviously worried about something. Chandler, Tayte, Emery and Nydia were playing a game of cards, trying to release any stress.

Chandler hadn't said a word to me since the time at the dinner table when Tayte had to open his _damn_ mouth. "There. All finished. How are you feeling?" Autumn asked me. I sat up, making sure to keep a good hold on the blanket.

"Not much different." I mumbled, wiping my eyes free of any dry tears. I leaned against my mom, who ran her hand continuously through my hair. It felt good to be able to be a momma's girl again. I was afraid to face my dad, for fear of what he might say or do.

"You can tell your stupid wolf boyfriend that you aren't allowed to go on any dates." Dad said firmly. I heard someone make a groan in distaste.

"Don't even call him that." I muttered darkly. "He isn't my boyfriend in my book. He's a stupid traitor."

"Hm… I wonder whose been telling you that?" I heard Tayte say sarcastically. I glared past my dad at him.

Dad sighed and sat beside me. "No one is angry with you for not listening. We're just happy that you made it out okay."

"Other then those terrible scars on your back." Autumn piped. I rolled my eyes.

Liam then said, pinching his nose, "You reek. Go take a shower."

I managed a great imitation of a gaping fish, and then glared at him. "I wouldn't be talking!" I snapped. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Come on, I'll take you up to the shower." my mom said, taking my wrist.

Chandler suddenly stood. "No, I'll do it."

Everything went quiet. I froze, and my heart suddenly started beating. _Oh no, please no. Please no, no, no. Don't let him come with me!_ I though, panicking.

My dad read my mind and snorted. "Take her to the bathroom Chandler. No funny business, or else I'll decapitate you." he threatened. I turned to my dad with a betrayed face.

"Hey, that's my brother." Autumn growled playfully.

Talons suddenly stepped into the living room. "Yes, go ahead, both of you. And Emery and Nydia, I would appreciate it if you two went to your rooms. Us adults have some talking to do." he ordered. Instantly, the two shape shifter teens got up and went upstairs, and I wrapped the blanket around my torso as Chandler and I walked up the stairs after them to go to the bathroom.

I honestly didn't care what the adults were talking about. I was too busy worrying that I was half naked and going to take a shower while Chandler stayed outside the door as a bodyguard. I knew they weren't going to let me go anywhere alone now.

Before I walked into the bathroom, Chandler said, "I broke up with Skyla."

I froze, my hand about to shut the door. I slowly turned to look at him with wide eyes. "W-what?" I stammered.

Chandler was looking at me seriously. "I've been an idiot. I haven't realized how you felt about me." he muttered.

"So you're just now doing this?!" I said, my voice starting to crack angrily.

"You were always so close to Emery -I thought something was going on between you two." his voice was strained, as though he hated admitting it.

My eyes widened. "N-no way! Emery is my best friend! I loved _you_!" I said just above a whisper.

Chandler opened his mouth to reply but then realization was evident in his eyes. "Loved?" he managed to ask.

Did I say that past tense?! "I-I… All the stuff you've done with Skyla… Y-you just look like you were in love with her. F-for three whole years y-you've been with her! What was I supposed to do? W-was I supposed to keep my unrequited love for you for the rest of our lives?!" I felt tears burning my eyes.

Chandler's sky blue eyes widened a bit. "Unrequited? That's what you thought? After all the times I've looked at you?"

"Looked at me? What?" I suddenly got angry. "All the times you've looked at me?! Or were you just looking past me?! And all the times you've left me to be with Skyla?! What do you say about that? How can you say you suddenly have feelings for me when-"

Chandler's lips met mine in such a force that I fell into the bathroom, my back meeting the counter. His hands gripped onto the corners beside my hips as he kissed me. It was as if something flowed through me in a pleasantly high amount. I realized he was using his powers on me.

To calm me down.

When I thought I was going to die form lack of oxygen, he pulled away, but only by millimeters, so that our lips were just barely touching. I panted, shocked from the sudden kiss. But it was _so_ much better than Kai's had been.

"You taste like werewolf…" he muttered. "Let me change that."

Then he kissed me again, and I gasped when I felt his tongue touch my bottom lip. He took that chance to explore my mouth, and I suddenly became dizzy from such a strange pleasure. I could feel his strong body against mine, the only thing separating his chest from mine being the blanket and his shirt.

"Holy shit! What happened to the cute little innocent Chandler from _years_ ago?!" I heard Tayte gasp from the doorway. Chandler broke the kiss to glare at Tayte, and I blushed, looking away from the other vampire.

"Who said you could interrupt the moment?" Chandler mused.

Tayte pointed at the door. "You left it open." he said dumbly. I started laughing then. Chandler pulled away and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Right. Forgot about that part." he said.

"I-I'm going to take a shower now…" I muttered, and pushed Chandler out of the bathroom. I quickly shut the door and leaned my back against it. I gingerly touched my lips in shock.

Had he really just kissed me? I looked into the mirror and saw that my lips were swollen still. My face broke into a grin, and I resisted doing a happy dance. Then reality hit me again, and I wanted to break something. Kai was ruining this all for me. But then again, if it wasn't for him, Chandler and I would have never gotten this far.

I sighed in defeat and turned on the shower.

*

The next morning, I seriously refused to get up. My mom insisted to get me up a million times, saying that if I didn't the werewolves were going to come, and none of them were ready for a fight yet.

"I don't want to see him." I muttered into my pillow.

"Karen, he can't do anything to you in school. If he tries, just yell for help. Stay close to crowds just in case." she told me.

I sighed and shook my head. Then I heard my father enter the room. "Alexa Lovie, I'll take care of it. I already started the shower." he said. My eyes shot open and I sat up faster then the eye could blink.

"N-no! I'm up!" I cried out.

"Too late." my dad said, and picked me up effortlessly. I thrashed in his arms and cried out in vain.

"_Daaaaad_! No! Someone help!" I shouted. My dad chuckled evilly. He opened the door to the bathroom, and threw me into the shower. I screamed as the ice cold water soaked through my pajama's and drenched me awake.

Dad smirked and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I huffed, and stood. Then I stripped off my clothes and threw them into the sink in a wet mess. I turned the water warm so I could _actually_ enjoy my morning shower.

Afterwards, I brushed my teeth and I changed into an extreme outfit. I wore a black and white pinstripe miniskirt with black leggings. I slipped on a tank top with lace that went over my shoulders and a white, silver and black belt. To top it off, I threw on my choker necklace. As I walked out of my room and slipped on my converse, I ran straight into Emery.

"Oh, good morning." I greeted, smiling at him. Though I wasn't happy at all. I wanted to kill Kai.

Emery looked at me, smiled falsely, and then walked downstairs. I stood there watching him, shocked. What was his problem?! I shrugged it off and grabbed my backpack. Chandler was downstairs, and had his car keys.

"Are you driving your car for once?!" I asked. Chandler looked over at me and smiled.

"No… My car only as two seats because it sucks like that. So I'm driving Tayte's." he told me.

"Your car doesn't suck. It's better then any other car I've seen." Nydia complimented. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. All four of us loaded into Tayte's car, Chandler driving, and me in the passengers. Nydia and Emery got back. It was silent, and before we were even out of my driveway, Chandler rested his hand on my thigh.

His hand was cool, and it was a huge difference compared to a werewolf's skin. I blushed, and five minutes later we were at the school. I took a deep breath, and climbed out of the car. My eyes landed on Kai, who was standing at the front of the school talking to… _Skyla_?!

Both seemed to sense our arrival and Kai started towards me. Almost instantly, Nydia and Emery flanked my sides. Chandler stayed behind us, leaning against his car. I could feel him keeping an eye on me.

"Hello baby." Kai greeted, giving me his killer smile. He wrapped his arms around me, acting as if nothing ever happened. I didn't return his hug. Instead, I stood stiff in his embrace. I heard Emery give a low animalistic growl, and Kai slightly pulled back, glancing at him and then frowning at me. "I hope he isn't starting to get territorial. I _really_ don't like competition."

"It wont be him you have to worry about." Chandler said, behind me. Kai glared at him.

"Was that a threat?" Kai mused, raising his eyebrows.

Chandler made a noise that sounded halfway between a laugh and a snort. "It wasn't a threat. It was a promise."

"Hm, how cliché." Kai acknowledged.

"It works, doesn't it?"

I started feeling tension rise. "Um, why don't we all head to class?" I suggested nervously. Kai looked down at me and smirked.

"I know you'd see it my way, baby."

"Quit calling me that." I muttered, and walked past him. I didn't spare Chandler another glance, for fear Kai would overreact.

I knew the vampire was following though, because we had first period together. I suddenly got a sinking feeling in my gut. School was going to suck. I needed to find away to either kill Kai, or turn him back into the good guy I thought he was. I nibbled my lip in thought. That would be hard, either way.


	8. Chapter 8

Gym had been a pain in the ass -err, the _whole_ day had been a pain in the ass. Chandler didn't get a chance to talk to me without Kai being around and butting into our conversation. Kai kept call me _baby_, like he had forgotten my real name. Not to mention during the classes we had together, he always wanted to know what I was doing whether I was texting Nydia or mom on my cell or writing something on a piece of paper.

Chandler -thankfully, was assigned to driving me, Emery and Nydia home. Kai was threatening Chandler that if he touched me in any way, he would kill him much like a vampire should be killed. But here we were, in the car, with Chandler driving and once again his hand resting on my upper thigh.

I smiled and leaned against him a bit. "We need to find a way to get rid of that exasperating werewolf." I heard Emery say from the back. I looked back at him, and he was watching me with his pretty black eyes.

"How do you think I feel? Maybe we should sit down with Talon and have a talk about this. I don't think I can go another day being called _baby_." I replied, and Emery smiled.

"I wonder if he has a physical attraction to infants and he gets off by calling you that." Chandler cogitated, smirking. I laughed and agreed.

When we arrived at home, we all jumped out of the car and ran inside. "Mom! Dad!" I shouted, dropping my bag at the door and running into the living room.

I stopped and made a face. They had been kissing, and now they were looking at me like they had just been caught having sex -which this kissing probably would have led to.

"Yes, honey?" Mom pulled away from dad, blushing. She quickly wiped her hair down and straightened her clothes.

"We need to talk. All of us. With Elder Talon." I hurriedly said, as Chandler and the others caught up with me in the living room.

Dad straightened, his face going serious. "Did Kaius touch you? Did he hurt you?" he demanded, coming towards me and feeling my wrists and neck for any wounds or fractures.

"No, he didn't. But he's driving me up the wall. I can't take another day with him!" I replied.

"None of us can." Chandler added.

Mom was nibbling on her bottom lip, a worried furrow marring her pretty face. "Karen, if we attacked him, it would start a whole new war and ruin the peace treaty. Werewolves in large groups can be extremely powerful… The elders wouldn't want any of our kind to die because of some small thing."

"Some small thing?!" I exclaimed angrily. "Your daughters life is spiraling downhill and you say its no biggie?! That's like letting him slit my neck after you tell him you could easily just convert me into a full vampire!"

Mom gasped and shook her head. "No! I didn't mean it like that!" she came over and hugged me. "I'm sorry, Karen. We'll call Talon right away." she then left the living room with dad, and they both went to the kitchen.

I sighed and collapsed onto the couch. Emery sat next to me, and Nydia sat in the la-z-boy chair. Chandler glanced at his watch. "I have to go pick up Tayte from work since I have his car. I'll be back a.s.a.p." he said. He approached me and kissed my forehead, before using his vamp speed to exit the house.

Emery put an arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him. "I'm so glad I have you guys." I murmured against his sweater.

"I don't think you could be "Karen" without us." Emery muttered and then gave a soft chuckle. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes.

"I will always be Karen. Don't let it get to your head."

"You guys are so cute together." Nydia complimented. I broke into a blush and Emery glared at his sister.

"Nydia, keep your comments to yourself." I hissed, but smiled to show her I was joking. Nydia giggled and pulled out her notebook to start doodling. I felt Emery's hand on my shoulder start moving in lazy circles, his warm fingertips brushing against my skin. I blushed harder, though it went unnoticed by him.

Was I developing feelings for my best friend? _No! Chandler only! _My mind screamed at me. I shut my eyes tightly, homing my ears in on the TV to concentrate on what the people were saying. Eventually my mind drifted into several thoughts, completely ignoring everything around me.

"_Oh shit! I am so sorry!" A deep, velvety voice apologized. I looked up to see a breathtakingly sexy guy lean down to start picking up my papers._

_I couldn't believe it. He was as sexy as Chandler._

"_N-no! It was my fault. I should be the one apologizing." I gasped, and rubbed my forehead as I sat up._

The day I literally ran into Kai. I thought he was something else. I never thought he could become like this.

"_Of course. I really find the war between vampires and werewolves tiring. Say, what are you doing after school?" he suddenly questioned._

That was the day he had lied to me. He enjoyed the war. That was also the day he asked me out.

_But he wasn't looking at me. His eyes watched my tongue, and then he leaned forward._

That was the night he had stolen my first kiss and betrayed me. He took the kiss that was meant to be for someone who really loved me.

My eyes shot open, and hot tears were dribbling down my cheeks. At that moment, Chandler, Tayte, Autumn and Lucas walked in the house, and Talon was behind them. Mom and dad walked into the room trailed by Emery and Nydia's parents. All eyes fell on me when they smelled the saltiness of my watering eyes .

I sat up, not trying to hide my tears. "Karen? What's wrong?" Emery whispered to me. My mom strode toward me and wiped the tears from my face. My eyes fell on dad. He could read my mind, and he was angry. He now knew that I had kissed the werewolf.

But I didn't care about that.

"I want him _dead_." I hissed furiously.

Out of the ones who were capable of it, they paled. "Who? Kaius?" Liam asked, suddenly trotting down the stairs with a blood bottle in his hand.

"Yes." My dad replied stoically.

Talon cleared his throat. "Yes, well, that's why I'm here."

*

That was it. In a week, we were going to go to war with Kai and his wolves. Talon told us he had a few close-knit vampire cities nearby, and some of the elders were going to help. I guess werewolves multiplied everyday, which meant all of us would have to fight.

It seemed so ancient times.

But this was probably as serious as the world wars between the humans. Every night, Kai went back to his lair where I had been before, so that would be where we were going to fight. It was going to be an unexpected attack.

Though it was only a week, it seemed like a year. The next five days was dreadful. It was constantly, "Baby this, baby that", or "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

It took every ounce of my control to keep myself from slapping Kai so hard it broke his jaw. The sight would be great to see, but that would ruin everything. Chandler and I only talked after school when he drove me, Nydia and Emery home. We never got time alone the five days, because everyone was constantly with me wherever I went -just in case.

It wasn't until the night that the shape shifter family went out for a family night, and mom and dad went to Talon's to discuss furthermore preparations, that I had a chance to actually be with Chandler.

Though Tayte and Liam were left at my house as well to watch over us. They were both playing video games, however. Chandler and I were sitting on the loveseat, his head leaning on my shoulder. I was running my hands through his soft hair, laughing every time Liam shot Tayte's character in the head on the game.

"Damn Tayte. You're getting your ass kicked." I teased. Tayte glared back at me and threw a couch pillow at from the chair. I moved my head just in time, but it hit Chandler instead. He sat up, giving his brother a warning glare.

"Don't make _me_ kick your ass Tayte." Chandler warned.

"Ooooh you just got threatened by your little brother." I told Tayte, holding in a series of giggles.

This time, both Chandler and Tayte glared at me. Liam paused the video game to watch the quarrel between us. "Little? I'm not very little anymore." Chandler told me, and I finally started giggling.

"She has a point though." Tayte said, and I started laughing harder.

Chandler picked up the pillow this time and chucked it at his brother. Tayte caught it, and smirked. "You forget we're vampires." he reminded Chandler.

"Yeah, you guys are. I'm not. I'm only half…" I said. "…Because I'm awesome like that." I added at the last second. And now, all three pairs of eyes landed on me, devilish glints dancing among their colorful eyes. I suddenly knew my demise.

"I'll hold her down!" Liam offered, standing up and coming around the couch. I squealed in surprise and tried to jump away from him, but Chandler pushed me back and stood up. Liam grabbed the top of the couch and tipped it backwards so I was laying down. His leaned it against his knees and smirked down at me. My eyes widened.

"No! I'm sorry! I take it back!" I cried out. But it was too late. Liam grabbed my wrists in one of his large hands and held both my arms above my head as Tayte and Chandler smiled innocently down at me.

Chandler attacked my sides, and Tayte attacked my underarms. I squeaked and started laughing uncontrollably. I tried to twist away from them, but to no success. I loved these moments, especially in the midst of all the stress with Kai. It was a great way to take my mind off of it.

"M-m-_mercy_!" I screamed between hysterics.

"Tell us that we're awesome!" Tayte commanded. I violently shook my head, attempting to stick my tongue out at him, but his free hand pinched the ticklish spot on my knee and at that moment my knee went up, trying to knee him in the face, but instead…

It hit Chandler in the groin. How that happened, I had no idea. But Chandler went to his own knees, groaning in pain. Poor vamp. Even that had to hurt him. Liam immediately let me and the couch down, and Tayte pulled back.

"Chandler, are you okay?!" I cried out, kneeling beside him. He glared at me.

"Just… _splendid_. Thanks for asking." he muttered. I covered my mouth to keep the laugh from bubbling out of my throat. It sounded mean, but it was so cute seeing him hurt. It made me want to tackle him and make him feel better.

"Are you laughing at me?" he asked in disbelief, slowly recovering from the kick.

That made my laugh come out, but as a snort since I was trying to hold it back. Chandler narrowed his eyes. He turned to Tayte and Liam. "Don't follow us." he ordered, and then faster then I could blink, I was in his arms bridal style.

"W-what are you doing?!" I gasped, as he walked up the stairs to my room. He didn't reply; instead he smiled down at me wickedly.

My breath caught in my throat when we were suddenly in my room and he shut the door behind us using his foot. Then I was thrown onto the bed. Before I had a chance to bounce, Chandler was leaning over me at the foot of my bed, and I was looking up at him with wide eyes.

His smile softened, and he gently placed a kiss on my lips. "I've been thinking a lot about you lately." he murmured, his cool breath fanning out over my face. He smelled like winter fresh mint. I smiled back at him, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him toward me.

"I've always thought about you." I whispered against his lips as I pulled away slightly to take a breath. He kissed again with more force, his tongue making its way into my mouth.

I hadn't realized I was on my back and he was on top of me until his mouth trailed down my jaw and to my neck, placing chaste kisses here and there. His hands were working on slowly lifting up my shirt, and I could feel nearly ever part of his lower anatomy pressed against mine through our denim jeans.

"I've just realized how amazing your blood smells." he breathed against my neck. I felt the butterflies in my stomach become burning hot with desire. When I felt his fangs brush my neck and his hands sneak underneath my bra, I started panting. I had never gone this far. It was all new to me. It felt too good, like I was going to pass out. And with it being Chandler, my beloved, it made the feeling even heavier.

Then I felt the sharp, quick pain of two needle-like pricks stabbing into my neck. I winced in pain. Why did it hurt so much?! I felt it go numb slightly, but I could feel my blood flowing out of me and into Chandler's readied mouth. One hand stayed on my breast, and the other went down to start unbuttoning my jeans.

_Kai watched me as I climbed out of the car. He followed after and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then. How about you and I just date then?" he asked, walking beside me after locking his car._

_My eyes widened. "To attempt to make him jealous?!"_

My eyes shot open from the memory with Kai. Why was I thinking about him at a time like this?! I gasped in shock when Chandler's hand met my secret spot, sending a chill down my spine. He pulled away from my throat, leaving me slightly dizzy, and then started kissing down my collarbone to my breasts.

_Kai chuckled. "No, Ren. Because I like you… a lot." he muttered against my hair._

"No!" I exclaimed, pushing against Chandler's chest. He sat up almost instantly, his hands leaving my body. He stared down at me in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

I sat up, buttoning my pants and pulling down my shirt. I backed up on my bed, staring at the blankets in shock. Why _had_ I done that? Why was I rejecting Chandler?! "I-I'm sorry…" I managed to stutter. I looked up at him in guilt. "I-I'm just not ready…"

Chandler's frown went to a small smile. "That's okay." But he lied. He stood up, and left my room, shutting the door quietly behind him. I stared at the door now, totally confused with myself.

What the _hell_…just happened?


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Ah, I feel so horrible. I haven't been updating as fast as I usually do. It makes me feel lazy when I don't update. I'm like a writing addict. Ha. Is that a good thing…?

* * *

I slowly stood up from my bed, contemplating whether or not I should chase after Chandler and tell him to come back to my room so we could continue. But a side of me was freaking out about why I had been thinking about Kai.

I opened my door and left my room, pacing down the stairs leisurely. I heard the phone suddenly ring, and I stopped before I reached the last stair, because I heard Tayte talking to someone on the phone in an urgent voice.

"Yes, Liam just took Chandler out back to get some animals for blood. Uhh… I do believe Karen is still up to her room according to Chandler. _Why_?"

There was a long silence, and I suddenly wondered who he was talking to. His voice was faint, but using my slightly enhanced hearing I could make out his words. He was in the second room from the living room, the laundry room. I could barely see him leaning against the doorframe.

"Have you arrived there then?"

Silence.

"Okay. Just be careful. We wouldn't be very happy if one of you ended up… never coming back."

My ears perked at this. Who the heck was he talking to?! I slowly crept through the living room and leaned against the kitchen door, peeking farther into the laundry room.

"Okay, bye. Be safe please." Tayte bid a goodbye, and then hung up the phone with a _click_. I sucked in a quiet breath, and as he left the laundry room through the opposite door, I ran into the laundry room as quiet as I could, and picked up the phone from the charger. I clicked through the recent calls, and my eyes widened.

It was my moms cell phone number.

Okay, now I was beyond curious. "What are you doing?" I heard Tayte inquire. I gasped, dropping the phone. I winced when it clattered to the floor, the battery flying out and sliding along the linoleum. I quickly spun around to see Tayte narrowing his eyes at me and standing straight in the kitchen doorway, where I had just come from.

"I-I was just going to call someone." I lied. Tayte raised an eyebrow. He strode toward me, reaching his hand out. I gave a small yelp as I danced from the grip of his hand. He growled and grabbed my shirt. He pulled me back and pushed me against the wall, my head next to the phone charger.

His free hand went to my face, touching my cheek. My eyes were probably the size of the moon.

He glared at me as he used his powers to climb into my mind. I smiled nervously. "So you heard my conversation with your mother?" he asked, pulling back. I nodded weakly.

"W-what were you talking about?" I demanded, my voice stuttering slightly.

Tayte sighed and pulled up a stool from the kitchen counter. Sitting on it, he faced me. "You have to promise not to freak out, okay?"

I nodded again.

"Okay… You aren't going to like this, but… Alexa, Rem, Calixto, Autumn, Lucas, Jelani, Talon and Giselle all went to kill the werewolves tonight. Jelani sent Emery and Nydia to their grandmother so they couldn't escape with their shifter powers, and they left Liam and I in charge of you and Chandler."

There was a long silence as I stared at Tayte. I slowly pushed myself from the wall, and stood up straight. My fists clenched and… I threw a fit.

"What the _hell_ do they think they're trying to prove?! With all those damn werewolves?! They think they're going to win without _us_?! Well shit! They are wrong! I can't believe this! I wanted to be the one to kill him! _Chandler!_" I screamed out after my rant. Tayte's eyes widened, and he knew Chandler would hear me and come running.

He jumped off the stool and put a hand against my mouth. "Chandler doesn't know! If he finds out, he'll actually _do_ something about it! Don't-"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Chandler ran through the back door, Liam right behind him. They both saw us, and Chandler's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What are you doing to her?" He hissed.

It was then I realized what position Tayte and I were in. He had pressed me back against the wall, and his hand was pressed hard against my mouth. I started giggling at the thought, despite my anger toward the adults. Tayte pulled away, and I could actually see an angry blush making its way onto his cheeks.

"No, it wasn't that. Karen has something to say." he sighed, defeated. I smiled triumphantly. Liam's eyes widened slightly.

"She knows, doesn't she?" he guessed.

Both Tayte and I nodded. Chandler looked confused. "What am I missing?" he asked.

And so I answered.

By the end of my sentence, he was fuming. "That's it. Tayte, tell us where they are! We're going after to help!" he said anxiously. Tayte furiously shook his head.

"No way! I'll be killed by Rem!"

Chandler was gripping his brothers collar of his shirt within seconds. "Tell me, or else _I'll_ kill you." he snarled. I hid my smirk behind my hand.

Tayte glared back at his brother. "I'm not putting Karen in danger!" he hissed back.

I dropped my hand and put both of my hands to my hips. "In danger? Oh please! I'm too valuable to Kai to be killed!" Chandler and Tayte glanced over at me, eyes narrowed, and I once again smiled nervously. "Just making a point." I quickly added.

Chandler let go of his brother and then turned to the phone. I'm calling Emery on his cell. Nydia is too young to come."

"Call Skyla, too." I said.

Chandler froze, his finger above the "5" button. "Why?" he demanded.

"For extra help. I have nothing against her now." I smiled innocently. I heard Liam snort.

"She isn't very happy with me. But I'll try." and so, Chandler began calling dialing the numbers.

*

Emery had put Nydia up for a mission to distract grandmother dearest as he transformed into a mouse and ditched the house to come to mine. Skyla had answered, and as soon as she had heard Chandler's voice, she hung up. He called back and left a message, saying he was sorry for pissing her off, but they had werewolves to fight. He quickly told her in the message where the war was located -after he punched Tayte a few times to get it out- and then hung up.

So now, the four of us were waiting for Emery. He had probably become a bird and flew here. His grandmother living about forty miles away, but thankfully the large castle where Kai was currently was only in the suburbs, about thirty or so miles away from _here_. No that bad, right?

Tayte said that the adults were going to lead the attack at exactly eleven. He told me that I needed to stay with one of them. He even gave me four pocket knifes, each varying in sizes. He told me to change into something to be able to move easily in, _and _be able to hide the knives at the same time. So here I was, wondering what in the world in my wardrobe I should wear.

I stared into my closet, my eyes trailing quickly over my garments. Deciding on it, I quickly pulled on my black sports bra so I could breath easily, my pretty black and white Save the Queen tunic, my pair of black leggings and the gothic black skirt that I never wore.

I stared at myself through the mirror in the bathroom, and clipped my bangs back with my skull hairclip. I smirked at myself. If I was going to fight, I wanted to do it in style.

Wow, how cliché was that?

I didn't mind it if I became covered in werewolf blood. I could easily buy the same clothes again. I grabbed one of the pocket knives, and slipped it into my bra so it rested comfortably between my breasts.

After I pulled on a pair of socks, I decided to wear my boots. They didn't have a high heel on them, so I would be able to run. I put a pocket knife in each boot. I looked at the last knife, contemplating where I should put it. It was the biggest one, at least thirteen inches with the blade pulled out. With the blade tucked in, the handle was only at least five inches. This would be my main weapon, I decided. I pulled up my tunic a bit, and pushed the knife between my belt and skirt. I was glad that the hem of my shirt concealed the knife.

I took in another deep breath. My heart was pounding nervously and anxiously. Was I really going to have to kill a bunch of pretty wolves? Then again, they had threatened to kill my parents and Kai had threatened to ruin my life.

I was doing this for my family, friends and me. That was all the reason I needed. "Karen?! Emery is here!" I heard Tayte shout up to me from the bottom of the stairs. I closed my eyes a moment to will myself to calm down.

Then, I walked down the stairs.

I didn't know that everyone who had been talking in the living room went quiet as soon as I stepped in. I was actually thinking, _Wow, this is actually really easy to move in… Pretty too. And comfy._ I smiled and looked up, only to frown and stop walking. Liam, Tayte, Chandler and Emery were all staring at me in awe.

"What?" I demanded, irritated.

"If you weren't related to me, I would probably maul you right now." Liam mused, raising his eyebrows.

Tayte made a face, finally looking away from me and at Liam. "Dude, that's gross."

"Exactly why I made sure she knew I knew that I was still related to her." Liam replied.

Chandler gave me a soft smile, and Emery was still staring at me, his eyes slightly widened. "Well, I'm ready." I said, raising my arms a bit.

"Where did you hide the knives?" Tayte asked, slowly getting up.

"Why?" I asked, as he walked toward me with a smirk on his face.

"Because _I'm_ allowed to maul you. _And _rape you."

At that moment, I heard Chandler and Emery both growl. Tayte paused, and I glanced over at them. It just so happens that they were now glaring at each other like two dogs where one of them had just walked onto the others territory.

"Well, maybe we should get going. It's only an hour until the attack, and it will take us that long to drive there since we have to drive the speed limit nowadays." Liam quickly changed the subject.

I nodded in agreement. We all quickly piled into Tayte's car, me in the back between Emery and Chandler. Tayte was driving, and Liam sat in the passengers seat. It suddenly felt extremely awkward sitting between both boys. They seemed pretty territorial over _me_.

But Emery shouldn't be feeling that way, should he? He's just my best friend -like a brother. At that moment, Emery, who was on my left, grabbed my hand and held it, and Chandler took my other one, entwining our fingers. I blushed.

This was…awkward.

*

After a good five minutes of the drive, I decided neither of them were going to let go of my hands, so I couldn't choose whose shoulder to lay my head against. After a minute more, I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. I could see in the dark pretty well, and the castle, from what I had remembered, had small lights attached to the outside. That would make it easier to see our targets.

The beautiful music of Marilyn Manson's "Heart Shaped Glasses" blasted through the speakers of Tayte's car, calming my aggravated nerves. Older vampires, like Talon, usually listened to different music, like classical or country or bluegrass. But us younger ones like rock music. From classical rock to metal or screamo.

A few more songs came on, and by the time I opened my eyes, we were driving through a quiet forest. I glanced out the window, past Chandler. It was _all_ trees. Funny, I didn't remember there being so many trees last time.

"Alright. We're parking about a third of a mile away from the castle so they can't hear or see our arrival. So be prepared to walk and wake up!" Tayte said, parking to the side of the forest, so close to the trees that the shadows covered us. The music went silent as he shut off the car, and my heart starting speeding up again.

As we all climbed out, Chandler and Emery letting me go, I quickly asked Tayte and Liam, "Please tell me you guys have been in a fight before."

Both guys shared a look, and then smirked at me. "The last few we ended up in were because of your mom." Liam said.

My eyes widened. "What?"

As we started walking, all boys surrounding me in a way, Tayte said, "Wow, they haven't told you anything, have they?"

I glared over at him. I could just barely see him through the darkness of the forest. The only thing keeping me from tripping was my semi-good eyesight and the guys leading me. "No, obviously not." I replied dryly.

It was still warm, so I didn't have to worry about a jacket. The summer air was still lingering -though slowly fading. "Well, my father tried killing your mom once -with the help of Evelyn, and the second time was when Evelyn and your dads brother Blade kidnapped your mom and-"

"_What_?!" I screeched, stopping in mid-step to look at Liam with huge eyes.

All the guys stopped walking instantly to stare back at me. "What's wrong? Shocked about the truth?" Liam mused.

"N-no! You said… -you said Blade!" I remembered my first time meeting my uncle -when Kai had kidnapped me. So my mom had a past with Blade too?!

"Why, have you met him?" Tayte suddenly demanded.

I nibbled on my lip, and started walking again. They followed quickly, Tayte taking the lead again. "Yes, I did. When Kai first kidnapped me. I was in the dungeons and he appeared from the shadows and greeted me."

"Did he do anything to you?" Liam growled. I shook my head.

"No, he didn't. He just told me who he was, and that I looked a lot like Evelyn." I answered. We were walking at a fast pace, and far ahead of us through a part in the trees, I could see a very faint light. That was where the castle was.

"Blade is an asshole. I suggest if you ever see him again and he tries doing…_weird_ things to you with his eyes, then kick him in the balls as hard as you can." Tayte instructed, and I gave a small, shaky laugh.

I was so nervous already. Before anyone else could say anything, we heard footsteps coming toward us at a fast pace. We all stopped walking, and my hand instantly went to my waist, where the knife was.

"What in the devil's name are you doing here?!"

It was my dad. I stared as all the adults appeared in front of us, glaring. I suddenly felt like a child who had just been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.

Though there were no cookie jars here, and there sure as hell weren't any cookies. And I'll be damned if all we'd be hearing is a small scolding.


	10. Chapter 10

I stood planted to my spot, afraid to move. My dad was giving me the glare of death. My mom had her hands on her hips, and Talon didn't look too happy with me either. Calixto and Jelani were eyeing Emery and I was sure he would get in trouble later. My dad turned to Tayte. "Did she talk you into this?"

Tayte ran a nervous hand through his hair and laughed. "About that…"

"Nope, he brought us here on his own free will." I lied. Tayte's mouth dropped and he glared at me.

Dad eyed my outfit and then looked back into my eyes. "Even though you're thinking you're saying the truth, your dishonesty is reaping off of you." he said, and flicked my forehead. "This is dangerous. You weren't supposed to come."

I rubbed my forehead where he had flicked, and narrowed my eyes. "Duh! Of course it is! Which is exactly why we wanted to help you!" I begged. My dad wasn't buying it, and he was still giving me a stone hard glare.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send you back and _really_ ground you this time."

I feigned innocence. "Daddy, don't you love me?"

He made a face. "Do _not_ talk like that. It doesn't become you."

I quickly put my hands together in front of me. "Please! I'm begging you! I want to help! Please! I have four hidden knives! I'm ready to fight!"

"Let me guess, two knives are in your boots, one is in your belt and the other is in your bra."

_My _mouth dropped this time. "Dad!" I cried out. I hadn't even been thinking about the stupid knives! He totally guessed! My mom gave a short laugh, and hugged me.

"Karen, it's really up to your dad and Giselle and Talon." she told me, soothing down my hair.

"I believe they should help us." The unfamiliar woman I assumed was Giselle said. My eyes lit up and I smiled at her. My mom and dad froze, and looked at her.

"Yes, think of it, Rem," Talon started, backing up the other elder, "the more help, the more likely we are to win. As long as each of us stays with one of the younglings, we should be okay and they should be safe."

My dad thought a moment, grimacing slightly. "Fine, but only if Karen has two of us guarding her."

"Are you going to guard mom?" I asked dad. He nodded.

"Yes, Lucas, I and Autumn are going to guard her. Tayte and Liam, I trust you to guard Karen. Emery's parents will help him, and Chandler can be with Autumn or the elders." Dad explained.

"We all must stay close together." Giselle added.

I nodded, and Tayte and Liam flanked my sides, each one smirking. They were just as excited as I was. I took in a deep breath. At that moment, I heard a long howl from ahead of us. Dad cussed. "They know we're here. Are you ready?"

When we nodded. Tayte leaned into me and whispered, "To fight, let your vampire blood take over. It will sense everything for you."

"H-how do I do that?!" I whispered back urgently, as we began heading towards the castle.

"You'll know, trust me."

Then we made it to the clearing, where the castle loomed over us, the faint lighting coming from it cast shadows over the grass and cobblestone. There were wolves at the entrance, and when they saw us, the went into fighting position and howled even louder. "So much for a surprise attack." I heard someone mutter under their breath.

Two, colossal gates to the side of the castle creaked open, and my eyes widened. On the other side, a large group of wolves stood, awaiting the chance to attack. I saw a slight movement to the left and upwards, and I looked over. Kai stepped from the doors and onto the same balcony where I had been with him before. He leaned against it casually, and smiled down at me.

"Welcome, my friends, how may I help you on this fine evening?" he called out to us. The others all turned who hadn't already, and some of them growled.

"Friends?" I bit back. "We're here to kill you, Kaius."

He frowned. "Since when did we go from nicknames to full names, Karen?"

"Since you betrayed me." I hissed.

"I will give you one more chance to come to me before I kill you with the others." he warned me. I took a second to pretend to think, and then smiled bitterly.

"No."

Kai snarled and hissed a command to the wolves at the gate. It was in a different language, but I think I had a clue on what it was. Instantly the wolves leapt from the doors, and there had to have been at least fifty coming toward us.

I barely had time to witness their open jaws, snapping at my parents as they surrounded us. The first one to attack was a large black one. He came for me. I was about to pull out my main knife when Tayte jumped in the way and caught the wolf around the chest. I winced when I heard him snap the neck. The wolf fell to the ground motionless.

"Damn, I thought they were stronger then that!" I gasped. Tayte had finished one wolf in less then two seconds.

"Quit thinking and start fighting!" Liam hissed, and took down another wolf coming toward us. I nodded, and pulled the knife out from my bra. I was going to save the big one for Kai.

There was a flurry of motion and noises as the wolves jumped at all of us at once. I barely had time to dodge ones large paw as it crashed down beside me. I flipped out the blade of the knife and stabbed it into the wolf beside me. He let out a long, furious crying howl and for a second I felt guilty.

He stopped struggling when I shoved the knife further into his chest. I pulled it out and stared down at the dark blood coating the once silver blade. Had I really just done that?

For less then a second, I heard a scuttling noise behind me, and I spun around, sticking the knife out as a wolf leapt on me. I cried out as it shoved me to the ground, my head hitting the still-warm body of the dead wolf beneath me. I pushed against it as it snapped its jaws wildly at me. It's teeth were inches from my face, and I just barely managed to plunge the knife into its mouth.

It gave a gurgling noise, and I shut my eyes tightly as blood sprayed onto my face.

Disgusting!

I used all my strength to shove the wolf to the side of me, and looked up. Everyone was surrounded by at least five wolves, and I knew now I was on my own. So much for staying with me, right? I cast one last glance at the wolf's mouth, where my knife had been stabbed into his throat. There was no way I was grabbing it back.

Another wolf came upon me, this one with pure white fur. Its eyes were coal black as it growled at me. I stayed on my ass in the small puddle of blood of the wolves as I watched it walk around me and the corpses.

I slowly made a move for the knife in my left boot, and the wolf's scary eyes watched my every movement. When I flicked open the blade, it roared at me and reached its large paw out faster then I could blink.

I groaned in pain when its claws slashed across my arm, knocking the knife from my hands to clatter against the cobblestone many yards from me. Shit, this one was smarter then the other ones. I only had two knives left, and I wasn't about to waste either of them. The white wolf jumped at me now, its claws extended and its jaw open to engulf me.

I sucked in a deep breath, and wondered what Tayte meant when he wanted me to let my vampire blood take over. At that moment, I felt a strong surge blast through me as if I had just drank three energy drinks. My body involuntarily rolled to the opposite side, and the white wolf landed on the corpse of its comrade. Its head snapped towards me, and it snarled angrily.

This time when it attacked me, I jumped up to my feet and twisted out of the way and did something I thought was absolutely foolish of me. I grabbed a handful of the white, soft hair at its scruff and leapt onto its back. The wolf spun around and tried to grab at my foot with its fangs. I leaned down and wrapped my arms around its neck. Right before the wolf started to roll over onto its back, I yanked my arms to the right, and bit my lip hard when I heard and _felt_ the snapping of the white wolf's neck.

It felt to its side, and I tumbled off of it. I backed away from the horror scene and watched as my family and friends were fighting even more wolves that came from the gate. My breath was uneven, and I was panting to stay alive. My outfit was already covered in blood -just by stabbing two wolves and breaking another ones neck. I felt so useless.

I had only killed three, while everybody else had killed probably more then five already.

I heard a faint clapping behind me, and I quickly stood up straight, and went into a fighting stance. Kai was walking to me, clapping his hands slowly. I glared at him. He smirked at me. "Very good for a Halfling. Especially since you killed my best warrior, the snow wolf." he motioned to the white one.

"Well your best sucks." I spat.

"Obviously. But I'm the one that wanted to fight you anyway. I could give you one more chance, and _might_ forgive you without hurting you." he suggested, opening his arms to me. I shook my head furiously.

"Not over my dead body." I replied.

His face went into a scowl. "Very well, Karen." He ripped off his shirt, and started transforming. My breath caught in my throat when my memories started coming back at full force.

"_You can either turn around or continue watching." he told me._

_He pulled back a couple yards, and started stripping. "What are you doing?!" I squealed in shock. He laughed and threw his shirt at me. It hit my face and I laughed along with him. I used his shirt to cover my face as I heard him unzip his jeans._

"_Okay, you ready?" he asked. I peeked over the shirt, which smelled like a mouthwatering forest. He was only wearing his boxers. I giggled, and he raised his eyes at me._

"_I'm ready!" I said, admiring his body. He was built and beautiful, and I couldn't believe that Chandler hadn't popped into my mind to make me feel guilty. Was I really starting to like Kai?_

_Then before my eyes, he bent over a bit, and within seconds, claws and fangs protruded, soft, gleaming dark brown fur grew on his body. My breath caught in my throat when his boxers ripped and in Kai's place was a giant wolf, with shining blue eyes. He was huge._

_Three times the size of a normal wolf. And he was beautiful too._

Was I really starting to like Kai? No, I already did like Kai. I liked him from the first moment I ran into him. I couldn't kill him, I realized, as the now dark brown wolf that was Kai vaulted towards me. My hands dropped, and I found I couldn't move. Reality was cold and harsh.

"_Karen_!" I heard Emery shout somewhere close to me. I barely had time to process a huge black panther jump in front of me at the same time Kaius tackled him. I blinked and my eyes widened in horror when I saw Kai swipe his claws along the panther's chest and bite hard into his shoulder with his large jaws.

"_Emery_! No!" I screamed, and everything went quiet around me as I ran toward the wolf over my best friend. At the same moment, a strong feeling exploded inside of me and I already had my largest knife in my hand.

I literally hurdled over a dead wolf and onto Kaius's back.

I heard a snarl when I stabbed the knife into Kai's back between his shoulder blades. With faint realization, I knew the snarl came from me. Kai howled in pain and jumped backwards. He flipped onto his side, knocking me off. He stood back up and stumbled a moment, before running back to the castle. When he made it to the gates, he turned towards his wolves still fighting us and gave another howl.

Every wolf stopped what it was doing, and turned to hightail it back to their master. Then the gates closed, and everything was quiet. I didn't stop to think about anyone else. The knife dropped from my hands and I pivoted to run to my best friend.

He was transformed back into his human self, and he was on his side, curled slightly as he held onto his shoulder wound. I fell to my knees beside him.

"Emery!" I cried out, tears flowing down my cheeks. I didn't care if he was naked. I took his head and cradled it to my chest, as I looked over his wounds. The one in his shoulder was the worst. There were gauge marks from Kai's teeth, and he had torn off the flesh there. I could almost see the bone beneath it. The one on his chest was only claw marks, and wasn't as bad.

He smiled faintly up at me. "Are you okay?" he asked me weakly. My tears fell harder and I choked on an angry gasp.

"Are you stupid?!" I sobbed, burying my face into his hair. I didn't even know that everyone else had instantly surrounded us until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Karen, we need to get him to the vampire hospital, _now_." I heard dad tell me. The thought of Emery being stolen from my arms was achingly horrible.

I turned slightly and hissed warningly at my father. It was like a protective instinct. My dad's hand hardened on my shoulder. "He's going to _die_ if we don't get him there!" he nearly shouted at me. My teary eyes widened, and my grip on Emery loosened and he was suddenly picked up by someone else. My arms went cold from the lack of his warm body, and my dad picked me up bridal style. Knowing I was safe now, I buried my face into his shirt and sobbed even harder.

"Shh, it's okay Ren. He'll be fine, Talon is rushing him to the hospital." it was my mom. I turned in my dads arms and wrapped my arms around her.

"Please keep him alive!" I cried into her hair. We were all bloody, and I could smell the disgusting wet-wolf blood -but I didn't care. All I cared about was Emery right now.


	11. Chapter 11

We all sat in the waiting room of the vampire hospital, quietly awaiting the news of Emery. I stared at the opposite wall emotionlessly, though my mind was running in circles with anger, hurt and worry. Mom had her arm around my shoulders and dad kept sighing.

Nobody moved until Chandler stood up. He looked at my dad, and then my dad stood and traded places with him. Chandler took my hand in his and I felt his calming power flow through me. I nibbled on my lip anxiously however. Not even his power could control my emotions right now.

After a couple more minutes, a nurse came in with a shining smile on her pale face. Instantly my heart leapt into my throat. She was bringing us good news. "Emery will be just fine. His healing powers had kicked in, and he should only have to stay here a couple nights. Family is allowed to see him right now."

All of us at once stood up. The nurse frowned and looked at all of us. "Only family through blood, please." she murmured. I resisted the urge to glare at her. So we all sat down save for Calixto, Jelani, Nydia and their grandmother who I had never met before. Nydia and their grandma had arrived shortly after we did.

They left the room after the nurse and I heaved a heavy sigh and leaned against my mom. "I'm so glad he's okay." I muttered against her hair. Mom let out a nervous laugh she had been holding and nodded.

After a few more minutes, Emery's family and the nurse walked back. "Is it our turn?" Mom asked the nurse. The nurse shook her head.

"I'm afraid you all will have to go home. Come back tomorrow, Emery is tired."

I felt cold hatred bloom inside of me. I stood up quickly and was in her face faster then I thought I could move. The nurse went from surprised to warning when she bared her fangs at me. It was instinct. "I want to see him! He would _not_ be too tired to see me!" I hissed at her. Someone grabbed my arms and pulled me backwards though, and I continued to glare at her.

Her face went soft again. "I'm sorry, but it's by hospital rule we need to let the patients rest." she told me, and then quickly added, "plus all that werewolf blood is making every vampire in this hospital agitated."

She had a good point. We were still caked with the dry blood, and I sighed in defeat. "Whatever." I mumbled. The nurse apologized again and quickly left the room. It was dad who had grabbed me and I glared back at him.

"It's time to go, quit giving me that death glare." Dad growled at me, and he pulled me after him and out of the hospital. Everyone followed. We all split up in our cars, Lucas, Autumn, Tayte and Chandler left to their house, and Talon and Giselle went back to his place to talk about the broken peace treaty, and the rest of us -excluding Emery's grandmother- went back to our house.

It was a silent drive, save for the classical music my mom put on to soothe us. I was nearly asleep by the time we pulled into the driveway of our house. They allowed me to take a shower first since I was the most exhausted. It was two in the morning, and I knew dad and mom wouldn't let me go to school tomorrow.

I stayed in the shower for a good hour, washing my hair and body three times. When I finished, I dressed into my black boy shorts and a loose tank top. I fell asleep not even minutes after my head hit my pillow.

*

When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly into my room. I sat up, all my muscles aching and my bones popping as if I'd slept in one position all night. I yawned and stretched, then looked at my clock. I had slept sixteen hours.

Memories from the night before came flooding back, and I remembered Emery was still in the hospital. I could see him today! I quickly stood up and walked down stairs quickly.

"Mom? Dad?" My voice was hoarse. Instead of my parents coming out of the kitchen, it was Chandler. He smiled softly at me.

"Hey, you want me to take you? Your parents went to the store."

I froze a moment, looking into Chandler's deep blue eyes. My heart was already torn in two. One side was yearning for Emery and the other for Chandler. I slowly nodded. "Yes, please." I murmured, and Chandler wrapped an arm around me and lead me to Tayte's car.

The ride was silent, and like usual, Chandler's hand had made its way to my thigh. "How are you feeling about this whole thing?" he asked.

"About Emery? I've never felt more broken." I told him seriously. Chandler's grip tightened a bit on my thigh.

"No, not that. I already know that. I meant about us."

"Me and you?" I asked, surprised beyond belief. Chandler threw me a curious glance and then looked back at the road. "Is there even an us?"

This time Chandler glared at me. "Are you saying that that moment in your bedroom and our first kiss in the bathroom was nothing?"

I was speechless. What was I supposed to say? Instead of opening my mouth, I turned and looked out the window, not giving him a single answer. I heard him make a sound of distaste and I nibbled my lip some more.

When we arrived at the hospital, Chandler let me go see Emery by myself. I walked in the preen smelling room, and saw Emery forking distastefully at his hospital food. When he sensed me, he looked up, his black eyes narrowing in on me. He was propped up against a pillow, and his chest was bare.

He was wrapped in white bandages from his abdomen to his collarbone, and his shoulder had been padded with thick adhesive pads and gauze. I breathed a sigh of relief when he smiled at me. "Hey, I never thought I'd see you." he set aside his yucky looking tray of hospital food, and opened his arms as best as he could with his shoulder being wounded.

It took my whole being and self-control not to tackle hug him. I carefully wrapped my arms underneath his and pressed my cheek to the bare skin of his unwounded shoulder.

"I'm sorry. The nurse yesterday was being a bitch. I just now got to see you today. I'm so glad you're okay!" I almost started crying, but his hand went up and touched my cheek, right underneath my eyelid.

"I'm glad _you're_ okay. All I remember seeing was you attacking Kai and then I was in your arms."

I laughed, though it came out shakily. Then I grew angry with him. "Are you insane!? You could have been killed!" I pulled away from him and crossed my arms.

Emery smiled softly at me. "Ren, you're only a half-blood. I'm a full _shifter_, which means I have a better chance of living. Had he attacked you and done to you what he did to me," he motioned to his shoulder and chest, "you would be dead right now." he finished in a strained voice, and he looked distressed.

I sighed and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. When I pulled back he was blushing slightly. It was adorable. "How are you feeling right now?" I asked. I pulled up the wheeled stool and sat next to his bed.

"What are you, my new nurse?" he joked, and leaned back on the bed. I laughed, a little more freely, and leaned my chin in my elbows which I rested on the mattress. He sighed and closed his eyes. "The nurse gave me a bunch of medication and the sedatives are just wearing off. So I feel no pain, but I'm clouded."

I smiled up at him. "Chandler is here too, but he's giving us time to talk."

Emery raised an eyebrow. "You mean he doesn't care you're alone in here with me?"

I shook my head. "He's holding back, I'm sure." I replied. Emery's face went grim.

"Ren, can I tell you something?"

I lifted my head up and raised my eyebrows. "Of course, anything, Em."

"Did…Um… That night when you cried and I held you, did you hear me say anything before you fell asleep?"

I thought a moment, trying to think hard. That was the same afternoon when Chandler and I had gotten into an argument. I remembered Emery letting me dry sob against him, and then I had fallen asleep. I also remembered hearing him say something, but I hadn't comprehended the words.

"I heard something, but I don't remember what the words were… why?" I asked curiously, sitting up in case I had to interrogate him.

"Oh, well then never mind." he picked up his tray and started poking his spoon at the disgusting looking jell-o. Now I was curious.

"Wait, tell me. What did you say?"

He glanced up at me and shook his head. "It wasn't anything important. Don't worry about it."

Before I could say anything else, the annoying nurse from the day before walked in. The smile on her face faltered slightly, but she kindly told me it was time to check up on Emery and that I could come the next day when they let him out.

I bid my goodbyes with Emery, giving him a soft hug, before leaving. Chandler met me in the waiting room, and we left the hospital. "So… how is he?" Chandler asked, climbing into the drivers seat and starting the engine.

"He's doing great. I'm so thankful he's alive. I would probably never be the same had he…" I bit my lip. I couldn't say the word. _Died_? Death was a scary and horrible thing to think about.

Chandler hadn't pulled out from the parking spot. The low rumbling of the engine running was the only sound. I glanced over at him to see him staring at me with sad blue eyes. "What?" I asked.

He leaned over me -with faint realization I noticed he hadn't buckled himself up- and then took my face and planted his lips against mine. My eyes widened, and he pushed his cool tongue through my lips and met mine. A couple days ago, this would have been heaven for me.

But now, it felt wrong.

"Chandler!" I said against his lips, and pulled my head away. His eyes opened and bore into mine. "Don't." I breathed, not knowing what else to say.

"I thought you loved me." he muttered.

The way he said it made my heart crumble to bits. I hated it. I hated the feeling of being torn between two people that each made my heart beat faster then it should. I was speechless. Chandler took that opportunity and leaned forward again, this time a bit rougher.

I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the kiss to end. His tongue still made my stomach warm, and the feeling was unbearable. I wanted his body -not his heart. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I _yanked _away this time, and put my fingers to his lips to keep him from moving forward more.

"Stop. No. Please Chandler, just drive me home." I wanted to cry. My voice was shaky and cracking octaves.

Chandler stared at me a few more seconds, and then pulled back to drive. The rest of the ride was utter silence between us. When we got to my house, I saw my parents were home. Chandler made no move to get out, so I leapt out of the car and into my house -not looking back.

I ran straight to my mom. She was in the kitchen, humming to a tune and cleaning the dishes. When she heard my entrance, she turned, and just barely managed to catch me as I flung myself against her and started crying.

"Ren?! Oh my God, what happened?" she led me to a chair by the dining room table and sat me down. She stayed in front of me, and ran her hands through my hair, trying to shush me down. "Can you explain what happened?" she asked, looking at me.

I managed to sniffle and wipe my eyes before I could tell her what was wrong. My dad walked in the kitchen when I started talking. I told them how I felt with Chandler, but how I was starting to gain feelings for Emery. I told them how it made my heart hurt when Chandler looked at me and said things like, "I thought you loved me?"

My mom held onto me the entire time. When I finished crying and explaining, I leaned against her quietly, staring at the opposite wall. "Like mother like daughter." Dad mused. I turned to him and sat upwards. Mom slid into the seat next to me with a faint smile on her pretty face.

"What do you mean?" I asked, sniffling a bit more.

Dad sat on my other side and twirled the wine glass in his hand. He was smirking. The wine sloshed silently against the glass walls. "Well, has Lucas ever said anything about your mother and him?"

Now they had my attention. Were they finally going to start hearing more of their past together? "No, he hasn't said much." I replied.

Dad's smirk went wider. "Lucas and your mother were together before her and I ever were." he said. My eyes widened.

"Really?" I gasped.

We talked longer, for at least a couple of hours. I learned that Lucas and Liam's father hated mom, and that he had tried killing her before. Mom had tried to change Liam and had slowly succeeded, and I had never expected Liam to be emotionless or angry all the time. Then Lucas had fallen in love with mom, but she didn't return the feelings completely. I laughed when dad told me the first time Lucas gave mom his credit card.

After some more talking, I had learned a lot about why my parents never liked to talk about the past. It was weary and dangerous. Interesting, definitely.

Later that night, I laid out an outfit to get ready for school the next day. I decided to wear my skinny black Tripp pants and a plain black t-shirt with red designs and swirls. Then I talked to Nydia a bit before we both headed to bed. She asked me how the fight went with the werewolves, and I told her every bit of it.

By the time my head hit my pillows and my blankets went to my chin, all my thoughts were on Emery. I was excited he would be out of the hospital tomorrow. Then there was still the Kai concept. Was he still alive? Or had he died not much longer after he ran away from the fight? Was he going to at school tomorrow? It was all a mystery to me. The questions were giving me a headache, so I shut my eyes and willed myself to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Tayte woke me up twenty minutes earlier then my alarm clock.

"Wake up! It's _school time!_ Time to get back to the normal life!" He literally danced around my room, and then he grabbed my outfit I had laid out, and threw it at me. I caught it just barely.

"Tayte…" I muttered, and glared at him. He stopped moving and smiled at me.

"Yes?"

"Nothings going to be back to normal until we know if Kai is dead and Emery is back at school."

"Well, if it helps, the docs said Emery could go back to school tomorrow…" Tayte shrugged his shoulders.

I pondered a moment as I sat up. "Yeah, that does help." I smiled at him and he beamed like a dog who had just received a dog treat. Then my smile disappeared. "Get out so I can dress, pervert!"

He ran from my room, afraid of a pillow onslaught, and shut my door behind him. I smirked, and then laid back down to sleep the next nineteen minutes away.

*

When I grudgingly and finally got up for school, Tayte drove me and Nydia. When we arrived, Tayte gave me Talon's cell phone number just in case of an emergency with Kai. Then we said goodbye and started toward the school.

No sign of Kai yet. However, when I walked up the stairs, I _did_ see Chandler talking with Skyla. I quickly looked away, and willed myself not to think about it. I liked Emery. I walked past them, and neither of them looked at me. I knew they could sense me, though.

Oh well. I walked to my locker and grabbed my math book. When I shut it, I turned, and nearly ran into Kai. Instead, I gasped loudly in surprise and took a few steps backwards. He remained rooted to his spot leaning against the other locker, and continued to glare at me.

"So how is your boyfriend fairing?" he asked, his scowl never wavering.

"M-my boyfriend?" By that I figured he meant Emery. I nibbled my lip and watched him warily. "Fine. How is your back doing?"

Kai's scowl turned into a weary smirk. "I guess I deserved it. After all, I _did_ backstab _you_."

My mouth dropped. What was he getting at? Then to my shock, he turned and walked away. He didn't even say anything else. He didn't make any crude comments, didn't even give me another glance.

"Well, _that_ was awkward and kind of scary." I heard Skyla muse behind me. I turned. She smiled tightly at me. "Hey hun. How are you doing? I heard Emery was in the hospital. And the fight that happened-"

"Yeah, the fight that _you_ didn't help us with." I interrupted. Why was I suddenly feeling so angry? Just looking at her made me angrier then usual. It was like I had to protect myself from getting to close to her or something.

Skyla frowned. "I'm sorry… I was busy. I had family problems and I didn't get the message until the next day." she tilted her head, and her eyebrows rose a little on her forehead.

She looked so innocent. I bit my lip and turned away from her slightly and hoisted my back higher onto my shoulder. "Whatever. I'm going to class." The bell rang, thankfully, and I walked away from her. I could feel her watch me as I walked.

I played gym easily, ignoring everyone that was around me, including Kai and Chandler. Kai was caught up in talking to some girl, and Chandler was with his usual friends. I felt alone and cold.

The rest of the day was spent in silence. Even when Nydia tried to console me, though her and I both had no clue why I felt so… solitary. I had a good explanation -of course.

I mean, my vampire friends and family and I had just broken a peace treaty between us and the wolves, I had stabbed my former boyfriend, and my best friend had been mortally wounded. Wasn't that a good explanation?

Though everything between Kai and I seemed finished, I doubted it. Something inside me pulled at me, as if trying to tell me something. I stared at the whiteboard with a thoughtful mind at the front of the classroom, not comprehending what the teacher was writing and saying.

Finally, the teacher's talking was interrupted by the bell. School was finally over. I blinked a couple times, watching as everybody stood up suddenly. That day had gone by unusually fast. I sighed and stood with everybody else, and collected my bag.

Nydia met up with me in the hall. "Hey, Tayte is giving us a ride to the hospital. Wanna come?"

I barely looked at her for longer then a second before returning my gaze back on the stairs as we walked down them. "Us?" I asked, softly.

"Yeah, Chandler, me, and Skyla."

I winced. "Actually, I'll take the bus. Thanks though." It would really help me. As she shrugged and walked off, I stared after her, mentally apologizing for ditching her. But being alone a little bit longer before I exploded in tears with Emery would really help me.

I pulled out some change and went straight toward the bus stop. I remembered what road the vampire hospital was on, and when the bus drove up several minutes later, I sat in the very back, away from everybody.

Every time the bus stopped and let a new person on, I felt cautious, and looked around. It felt like someone's eyes were on me, but nobody was looking at me. I nibbled the inside of my cheek to let my lips rest from my teeth's torture. Finally, after several more, agonizingly long minutes of driving, my stop was just around the corner. I alerted the driver, and he slid to a stop on the side of the road.

I quickly climbed off the bus and didn't acknowledge the people on the opposite side of the street. However, when the bus took off, I felt the staring bare into my back. "Hey pretty girl. You must be that Karen chick." I heard someone call behind me.

I froze, all my senses suddenly on high alert. I turned, and the guys were walking across the street from me. How the hell did they know my name? Street thugs? I didn't remember having a reputation with them. But as they got closer, I realized their skin was deathly pale.

_Vampires_.

There were at least six of them, all wearing biker clothes. Leather, vests, boots. You get it. I hesitantly stole a glance behind me, where the hospital -looking so safe right now, stood just a couple hundred yards away from me. I could just barely see Tayte's car parked near the front. They were already in there, which meant no chance of them driving up and seeing me.

If I could just distract the vampire gangsters for a moment, I could turn and run-

"So, Karen, are we going to do this the hard way, or the easy way?" The same man asked me. I faced them again. They had stopped a couple meters away. Any way would be easy for them. Whatever the hell they were talking about. It wasn't like I could handle six vampires, after all.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I demanded, though my voice cracked several times.

The one who had spoken let out a low, sinister chuckle. "Baby, we know more about you then you would know about yourself."

Instantly, I knew who was behind this. _Baby_ gave it all away. I bared my dull teeth in a snarl, though they only snickered. "Stay the hell away from me! I have people who could kill you instantly!" The only question was, why were vampires working for Kai?

"Oh? You mean the people who are currently _all_ busy to come to your rescue?" Another vampire laughed. I bit my lip again, contemplating something I should do.

"Jason, her fear is just rolling off of her in beautiful waves." A man said to their leader -the guy who was in front of them.

So what was he? An emotion eater? I didn't wait, as soon as "Jason" turned to reply to his buddy, I pivoted and took off in the opposite direction.

"You little-!" Jason hissed, and adrenaline kicked in. I sprinted as fast as I could. Only a hundred yards and-

A hand grabbed me by my short hair and I cried out as they yanked me backwards. I was brought against the vampire, Jason, who still had his fist clenched painfully in my hair like a rats nest. He harshly whispered into my ear, "I didn't want to have to do it the hard way. Hurting your pretty little body was the last thing on my mind."

His words made sense when I felt the cold metal against my stomach. He had pulled my shirt up, and was now pressing a dagger against my skin. I stared down at the sharp, jagged blade as he pressed it harder against my flesh.

"Ow! No, please, don't!" I begged, going limp in his arms as I saw the first droplet of blood and felt the sharp, searing pain.

He chuckled. "I figured your mother would have taught you not to run from vampires." and then he sliced the blade across my stomach. I screamed out, but his hand left my hair and slapped over my mouth. My hot tears hit his cool fingers as I began to feel dizzy. "This knife has a poison that vampire blood doesn't like at all. I learned the recipe from none other then beautiful Evelyn."

Those words were the last thing I heard before my eyelids drooped. I suddenly felt numb, everywhere. But the pain in my stomach… The pain was so hard to bare. Everything went black.

*

When I woke up to someone forcing water down my throat, my first instinct was to lash out. And so I did. I spat the water back in the person face, and reached out to claw my dull nails across their cheek. They stumbled back in shock, and I took that moment to leap off of whatever couch I was on to head for an escape.

I stumbled though, and my head spun as if I had just taken a big whiff of sour cleaners. I groaned and stopped moving, leaning against a wall for support. I put a hand to my head to stop it from going around in circles. I felt a warm hand touch my bare shoulder.

_Wait, bare shoulder_?

I hesitantly opened my eyes again and let them adjust to the strange incandescent lighting. "Are you okay?" It was a very familiar voice that I should have feared by now.

I slowly turned to face Kai. He had red welts across his left cheek, probably where I had scratched him. He gave me a fake smile, and I looked down at myself. I was only wearing my plain, black bra and a pair of boy shorts that didn't look like mine at all.

"Sorry, I had to change you… There was blood everywhere, and none of the vampires here could take it. Plus I didn't trust any of my comrades to change you."

I immediately crossed my arms over my chest and moved away from him. My head stopped spinning, and I was just now feeling the dull, aching pain in my stomach. I glared at him. "Like I would trust you, of all people." I hissed underneath my breath.

I glanced down at the slowly forming scar on my lower stomach. I looked back up at him with a scowl. "Don't they have much better ways of kidnapping people nowadays? Like asphyxiating them for short moment to make them pass out, or even coaxing them with candy?!" I snarled sarcastically. Kai rolled his eyes.

"Baby, neither of those would work on you, thanks to your vampire blood. Plus, it's grown stronger." he touched his cheek, feeling the scratch marks and then added bitterly, "You reacted faster then I thought you would."

"Good to know. Now, if you don't mind, I'll just be leaving now." I turned, not caring if I was in only a bra, and started to walk towards the giant door on the opposite side of the large room. But I stopped, and jolted back in surprise.

Either that man had been there guarding the door the whole time, or he had just now appeared. He was standing in front of the door, staring above my chest. _Well, at least he has manners_.

I growled and turned back to Kai. "What the hell do you want?! I thought we were finished!" I went into a fighting stance, and Kai snickered at me.

"Baby, we're now at war with the vampires. You're just bait to get it all started."

I laughed vacantly. "Kaius, last time you tried this, it didn't work. Last time we had that fight, _we_ won."

Kai growled warningly and then walked to me, putting a hand on my chin. "Baby, you don't know anything. First off, you didn't finish us wolves off, and this time you wont be so lucky. Because _this time_ we have backup." he finished in a crude smile.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and what backup might _that_ be?"

"Me." Skyla stepped out from behind a large, embroidered pillar that I hadn't noticed before. My jaw dropped, and all anger fled my body in one, fluent motion.

"Skyla?!" I whispered in disbelief.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: I'm really sorry it took me forever to update! Document manager wasn't working with me.**_

* * *

Before, my first thought had been to run, but now, my body was frozen. Skyla had betrayed us. Betrayed _Chandler_. She stood there in all her beauty, her arms casually crossed over her stomach as she studied me.

Kai placed a hand on my shoulder and chuckled. "See what I mean? Did you know her power is extremely rare -just like an elders? Or did I forget to mention her father _is_ an elder?"

My jaw dropped and I spun to look at Kai. "Who?!" I cried out. I remembered meeting Skyla's mother, who was gorgeous just as much as Skyla was. But then again, I had _never_ met her father or even heard of him.

"He is a mind worker." Kai smiled, showing his sharp, wolf teeth.

I didn't even know three of the elders. I knew Giselle and Talon -that was it. "B-but wouldn't he get angry at her for working with the wolves?" I wondered aloud. Kai snorted.

"Father betrayed his own kind to help Evelyn kill your mother. I honestly do not think he cares." Skyla filled in for me.

I glared at her. "I thought you loved Chandler! Why would you want to go to war with them?!"

Skyla smiled; a malevolent, scary smile. "When Chandler dumped me for _you_, I guess my anger got the best of me. I feel like doing something fun for a change." she replied.

"What about your mother?!" I hissed, crossing my own arms.

"What about her? She doesn't know what I'm doing."

Kai chuckled. "Isn't Skyla just delicious?" he squeezed my shoulder as he spoke. I shook my head.

"No, she's stupid."

Skyla snarled and leaped towards me. I gasped and stumbled backwards, but she stopped barely inches from me. She got in my face and smirked. "You're the stupid one. Chandler is stupid, my mother is stupid, all of them are stupid!" she told me. I bit my lip to keep from retorting. Skyla scanned my face once and then looked on in disgust.

"I honestly don't know what Chandler or Kai see in you." Then she pulled back and Kai frowned at her.

"Beauty and brains, of course. No other female has ever been able to stab me in the back." he commented, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I shrugged him off of me angrily and turned on him. "Quit acting so casual about this! My family will slaughter you mangy mutts!" I growled at him.

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Really now? When I have over a thousand wolves and there are only a ten or so of your friends?"

I stopped talking and stared at him. Over a thousand wolves?! This guy was insane! "What are you going to get out of this?! Can't we just go back to the peace treaty and continue on like nothing ever happened?!"

Kai touched my chin and smirked again. "I get you, and the pride of being superior over the pathetic vampires out there."

"I'm part vampire, you idiot!" I retorted, shoving him away from me.

Kai brushed off his shirt nonchalantly. "Yes, well, that will change before the vampires come."

My next reply was let out in a whoosh of breath instead. "W-what?"

"I'm going to turn you into a wolf. I'm not sure which side of your blood will be stronger, so whatever it chooses, hopefully you'll become a wolf."

I wheeled backwards and put my hands up and frantically shook my head. "N-no w-way! A-a-are you insane?! I don't want that!" I managed to stutter.

Kai grabbed my wrist and yanked me to him. This was _really_ getting annoying. "You _will_ become a wolf, whether you like it or not. Then we can talk. For now," he turned to Skyla. "take her somewhere and chain her up. I wouldn't want her escaping."

And so, I was taken to a dark, eerie dungeon which I snorted at. "There is no way in hell you're chaining me up down here. Maybe he meant a nice, cozy room?" I suggested and Skyla scowled at me.

"Of course, if you want him to rape you."

I glared at her as she grabbed my arm painfully and yanked me down the stairs after her. Then she shoved me against one of the far walls and chained my legs. Then she cast me one last sinister smile and then left me alone in the darkness.

The only light came from the moon outside the window behind me. I sighed and slid against the wall to sit down. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, trying to think about the better view of things. Perhaps we would win, and Kai would finally give up? Maybe I could even talk to Kai a bit more and… use my charm to make him agree.

I winced and frowned. After what he's done, I wasn't sure I could seduce him or even think of him in the same way before. I sighed heavily and ran my hands through my hair, pulling at it to make me stop thinking about him. I closed my eyes, hoping maybe I could fall asleep to pass the dungeon time away.

*

"Wake up, Ren." Kai's voice echoed, and I groaned, opening my eyes to glare at the bastard I had once liked. He smiled down at me and held out a bowl of awkward looking soup. "You need something to eat or you're going to waste away."

"I'd rather waste away then be held prisoner by _you_." I spat, and hit the bowl from his hands. It flew over him and I had to resist laughing.

He dropped the bowl and stood up. "When I come back, I suggest you be on your best behavior, _bitch_." he snarled and left the dungeons. I stared down at the bowl and thought,

_Best behavior? I thought I told him I wasn't a dog._

Not even minutes later, Kai and Skyla, along with another man I didn't recognize, came down the dungeon stairs. I glared daggers at them, but the unfamiliar man stepped forward first and ripped off the chains easily. Then he grabbed my wrist and much to my chagrin, yanked me up to my feet. He was strong, but his skin was warm.

Werewolf, of course.

"Let me go." I seethed angrily toward him. He ignored me and almost threw me into Kai's waiting arms. Kai picked me up bridle style and I flipped out. "Stop it! Just let me go, please! I want to go home! I'm tired of war and I'm sick of you!"

I struggled in his grasp and attempted to hit him in the face. That didn't work so well. Instead, my hand was caught in his mouth and he bit hard. I cried out and pulled my hand back, the first droplets of blood from his sharp bite dripping down my wrist. He frowned at me.

"Shouldn't have even tried." he muttered, and turned. I held my arm to my chest as my blood seeped through my shirt. He carried us up the stairs with ease, Skyla and the man following closely.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded, no longer struggling.

"Well first, we're going to bandage that wound, and second, I'm taking you to a suitable place to sleep until your friends get here. And right in front of them, I'm going to change you."

"They won't let you." I muttered.

"They won't be able to get very far while being surrounded by my family."

"They'll end up killing your family."

"Your family will all end up dead before mine do."

I glared at him, but he didn't look at me. I knew I had lost the argument, but I hated not having the last word. And so, I added under my breath, "And I'll be the one to slaughter you."

Kai glared down at me but didn't reply. "Do you _ever_ shut up?" Skyla demanded from Kai's other side. I opened my mouth to retort, but Kai stopped walking and dropped me to my feet. The man beside him stopped and took a hold of me to keep me from running. Kai turned on Skyla and snarled.

"I suggest you refrain from crude remarks toward her! She's going to be the future wolf-queen, so she will be able to do whatever she wants with you afterward." he hissed, and my eyes widened.

"W-wait, what?" I stuttered, but then I had to say, "Why can't I just kill her now?"

Kai turned on me and sighed, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Karen, I didn't realize you were so anxious to become my mate." he smiled, and I glared at him.

"Like hell."

Kai's eyes drifted to his righthand man holding onto me still. "Would you mind taking Skyla away for a little bit? Ren and I have some… one on one talking to do."

My eyes widened in horror. I was suddenly never so terrified before in my life. The man and Skyla left us in the hall alone, and my fear spiked. Kai smiled at me. "Ren, I figured I would wait until your family arrived, but now, I've changed my mind."

I shoved against him, instantly knowing what he was referring to. "Don't touch me!" I shouted, and turned to attempt to run. That was a huge mistake. I got a yard before I was tackled and I went face first into the carpeted hallway floor. My yelp of pain was muffled as he bent my arm back, and I heard a loud pop. Well, at least he didn't break it, right?

He hissed in a whisper in my ear, "Why do you continue to resist? When you become a werewolf like I, you'll become the queen, and you'll have the whole wolf world at your hands, Ren!"

"Stop _calling_ me that!" I replied in anger, trying to pull my arm from his ireful grasp. He chuckled.

"Do you know how the transformation goes?" he asked casually, bending my arm back a little further. I stopped struggling instantly and gasped in pain. I managed to shake my head, not trusting my voice. Kai breathed into my ear, sending sickening shivers down my spine. He nibbled my earlobe and then sighed, "I can bite you and then feed you my blood, or you can bite me at the same time I bite you. Which would you prefer?"

I bit my lip and tried to focus all the pain to my teeth gnashing into my tender lip as I yanked my arm free. Kai immediately switched the position to where I was on my back and he was holding both my arms above my head. He leaned down and nipped my chin, causing me to bite harder on my lip. The conversion of a wolf was the same as a vampire, I found out. Which meant it would be pleasurable, and I did _not_ want that.

I winced when I drew blood. Kai's gaze settled on my lips, and I had a flashback to when we were in the alley and he kissed me -he had stolen my first kiss.

He leaned down and gingerly licked the blood pooling at my chin, all the way to my mouth. I gasped when he nipped my lip and he took that chance to kiss me passionately. Or, in my view, _aggressively_.

At that moment, Emery flashed into my mind. There was a sudden vacancy in my mind, like someone had wiped out all my memories as I tasted a new, sweet, salty taste in my mouth. Kai had bit himself to bleed into me. I felt numb all over suddenly, and my eyelids fluttered shut. My struggles stopped, and I could feel my vampire blood taking over, urgently telling me to drink Kai's blood.

The warm liquid slid down my throat, and he sucked my own blood from my lip.

_Karen? Can you hear me?_

My eyes opened slowly, looking around me from Kai's head as the voice spoke to me. It took me a moment to realize the voice came from my mind. I closed my eyes tightly, feeling dizzy. Kai pulled away, and I remained on the floor, trying to process who had thought his thoughts to me.

_I can hear you… Who are you_? I asked mentally.

_My name is Isidor. I am an elder. You have to trust me, and give me a slight idea on where you are. Surroundings perhaps?_

Isidor? I opened my eyes slowly, though my vision was blurry. Everything was numb on my body, except my brain. Kai stood above me, staring down at me, but I looked around without moving my head.

_Cobblestone walls… Castle… Carpets…_ I thought back, my voice wavering in my mind. There was a long silence, and I feared Isidor had left me. I was going to be alone now? Kai was going to torture me? I felt tingling in my veins, as if adrenaline had kicked in, but I was too weak to move.

_You aren't in the same castle as before. I know where you are… Hang on until we get there_. He thought back, and I shut my eyes again, the tingling in my body luring me to sleep. Isidor's voice yelled at me suddenly. _No! You must stay awake! Don't let his blood dissolve inside of you! Fight it, Kar-_

His voice vanished as I fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry updates have been so dang slow. School has been a pain in the ass because of midterms. :O

* * *

When I woke up, I felt like I had been hit by a train.

I groaned and rolled onto my stomach. My limbs felt like rocks, and my stomach felt like it was on fire. My eyes opened slowly, thanking there was no light. Instead, it looked like I was in a dark room, on a hard, cold floor. Oh no, was I in the dungeon again? I remembered that Kai had tried to change me. Wait… I paused, my eyes going wide. Without processing the sharp pain in my arms and legs, I crawled onto all fours and grabbed onto the wall in front of me for support.

Pushing myself up, I stared around me. There was faint light coming out of the barred window to the far side of the room, lighting it up just enough so I could see that I was indeed in a dungeon again. Though this one was different -since there was a window.

I suddenly wondered if Kai really had changed me. I didn't feel any more different other then it felt like someone had fed me a bunch of spicy red hot sauce and punched me in the stomach a few times after stretching out my limbs to make them sore. I winced.

Okay, so maybe I felt a little bit more then a little different.

I cleared my throat softly, wincing again when it became scratchy and dry. "H-hello?" I called out around me. It sounded more like a croak though. My eyes fell on the short set of stairs and the large, wooden door.

Nobody else was in here. I looked down at my body to make sure I hadn't changed at all. My clothes were dirty and slightly ripped but that was it. I took a stumbling step towards the stairs, but gasped when the door suddenly swung open, sending a blinding white light into the room. I blinked multiple times to get used to the light.

Then I saw someone I thought I would probably never see again.

"Blade!" I whispered in shock. He glanced down the stairs at me and made a face of annoyance.

"Oh, it's you. Kai is still after you?" he asked, taking a step onto the first stair.

I blinked in confusion. "Wasn't he the one who brought me here?" I demanded.

"I have no clue, honestly." he muttered, leaning against the wall supporting the stairs.

"Can you help me?" I begged, stepping closer to the stairs. "For family?!"

The corner of Blade's mouth quirked a bit. "And what will I get out of it?" he asked casually. I bit my lip to keep a snide remark inside of me. I thought a moment and the gulped.

"I-I'll give you some of my blood." I stuttered, and Blade's eyes snapped to meet mine. The quirk of his lips turned into a full-on smirk.

"Well, in that case, let's get you out of here." he walked down the rest of the steps and wrapped a supporting arm around my waist to help me to the stairs. His touch wasn't gentle, but then again, he was my vampire uncle who once tried to kill my mom.

"Where is Kaius?" I inquired as we started up the steps.

"Said he had to go out and fight some people." Blade told me, and I tripped over my own foot in ghastly surprise. I stopped walking and Blade looked down at me in questioning.

"_What_?!" I yelled, causing Blade's eyes to widen slightly.

"Shut up, or people will hear you!" he hissed, flicking my nose hard. I ignored the pain and glared at him.

"You didn't stop him!? He went to go fight mom and dad and the others! Hurry! We have to go!" I urged him, now pulling him after me as I felt adrenaline rush through my blood. All the pain suddenly faded as we left the dungeon.

Blade yanked back hard on my waist, causing the pain to slightly shock me enough to fall back into step with him. "I thought _I_ was the one getting _you_ out of here." he mused, as we patiently walked through the large, unique halls. I fumed. He was going slow on purpose!

"Fine! Tell me where the war is and I'll let you be and go there myself!" I turned on him, stopping our walk. He raised his eyebrows.

"On one condition."

"_What_?!" I nearly screamed.

"You change into different clothes and grab some weapons."

I stopped my anger and looked down at myself. I now got a better look at how my shirt was arranged. It looked as if someone had raked their claws down the front, revealing my blue bra with pink polka dots. I blushed furiously and pushed Blade away.

"Pervert!" I hissed.

He rolled his eyes and motioned for me to follow him. As we walked quickly down the halls, I couldn't help but peek at him. He was nicer then I had suspected. Could someone like him work with such a bitch named Evelyn? I almost denied it.

We walked into a strange room with tons of clothing and dressers and hangers. Blade told me to wait at the door, before suddenly disappearing in a gust of wind. I stared at the spot he had just vacated in shock. Could all full-vampires move _that_ fast?!

And suddenly he reappeared, holding out an armful of clothes. "I picked out a pair of easy-to-move-in jeans, new undergarments, and a t-shirt." he told me, nearly throwing the clothes at my face. I caught them just barely and smiled brightly up at him.

"Thanks." I nodded my approval, and he left the room so I could change, shutting the door behind him. I quickly shed all my old clothes and dressed into the new ones. Surprisingly, everything fit perfectly, which made me a tad suspicious.

The jeans were slightly tight and showed off my curvy legs, but stretched with me. The shirt was tight around the chest but flared out at the hem and danced around me as I turned. I kept my dirty shoes on, hoping they would hold out for me. I left the room and Blade greeted me on the other side.

He handed me a sword.

I stared down at it.

"Use it to kill Kaius." he told me. "Stab it straight through his heart. It's the only way to kill the bastard." he told me.

I pulled it out of the scabbard and admired the shininess that would soon be covered in my enemies blood. I sheathed it and smiled appreciatively up at Blade. "Thank you for all of this." I whispered to him. He shrugged and pointed down the hall to two large, double wood doors.

"That's the exit. Take the red car in the driveway. You'll know where the fight is going on." he supplied for me. He threw a car key at me, and I barely managed to catch it after he disappeared from the hallway.

"W-wait! How will I know?!" I asked the empty air, hoping he would come back to answer that. No reply came back. I huffed and hurried out the doors. On the other side was what looked like a huge garden, and beyond it was a driveway, with seven different colored cars. One stood out amongst them all. The red convertible. I paused suddenly and realized Blade never asked me for my blood. But then again, maybe he was easing up on me because I was about to go fight. I couldn't butt into a war without much blood. I'd be weaker than hell.

I gripped the key tightly in my hand and made my way to the car. I unlocked it and climbed in. Then I started it, and drove slowly form the driveway. I rolled down the front two windows, hoping maybe I would hear the battle going on. I heard nothing as I drove down the back-road past the forest of trees.

I stopped at a fork in the road and looked to the left street and then the right. Something inside of me screamed to go left. And so, I followed my instinct and turned left. I was driving down the road which was oddly quiet and dark. It was then I noticed the car sitting partially in the trees. I hit the brakes instantly when I noticed it was Tayte's car.

I swerved off the road and parked next to his car.

Then I reached into the back and grabbed the sword. I eyed it carefully before sucking a deep breath and leaving the car. I stared into the dark forest that was lit up by the bright moon. The sinking feeling in my stomach made me feel sick all of a sudden. I was about to walk headfirst into a huge, scary war with only a sword. I was about to kill somebody that I once thought I had fallen in love with.

I suddenly heard an agonized, pained scream from ahead of me in the forest -and with a shock… I realized it was my mom's.


	15. Chapter 15

I took off running as fast as I could. The trees sped past me in blurs, and I followed the sudden shouts that I heard in front of me. My heart was beating faster with each passing second, so hard that I thought it would burst form my chest. I broke through a clearing and was once again faced with the backside of the familiar castle -and an acres full of dead wolf bodies and blood.

I stopped in mid-step and looked where all the commotion was coming from. In the center of the large field were my friends and family, surrounded by at least a hundred wolves that were attacking and lashing out. In the center of the wolves, dad was holding my mother in a kneeling position.

She had a dagger stabbed into her stomach. Kai stood on the outside of the circle of wolves and vampires, with a satisfied smirk on his face. My eyes widened as he looked at me.

My anger burst forth and I drew the sword from its home. "You _bastard_!" I screamed, and nearly every eye fell on me. My dad was the first to react.

"_Karen_!" he snarled. "Leave! Get out of here!"

"But what about -mom!" I yelled back, worried, angered and scared.

Kaius interrupted our talk. "I see the little bird has escaped her confinements. Tell me, dear, how are you feeling? Any different?"

I saw several of my vampires go rigid and stiff in response. I even saw Emery, who was staring back at me with wide eyes. He was safe, at least. Except mom… she had her eyes open though, and she was holding onto dad tightly in pain.

The dagger was still protruding from her. Taking it out would make her bleed to death, but either way…

"What does he mean?" Talon demanded, stepping closer to the wolf circle. They snarled in response, causing him to glare down at them.

Kai turned his attention back to Talon. "I forgot to mention that I changed your dearest little girl." he said, smirking widely.

I flinched. "You're wrong! I don't feel any different!" I retorted, though my voice was weak. I gripped the sword tightly, my eyes facing my mom. She was staring back at me, her eyebrows furrowed in fear for me -for her, I wasn't sure. My heart sunk when I looked back at the knife.

"Really?" Kai mused, taking a step toward me. I raised the sword toward him. Kai's eyes narrowed in on it. "Interesting. I see you've gotten some help from Bladen. What a bastard. You can never trust him. That man can't decide what side he wants to be on."

"Shut up!" I hissed.

Kaius's eyes softened and he started to transform. I gulped. This was what I wanted, wasn't it?

As soon as he became a full wolf, everybody went into action again. Talon slashed at the wolves in front of him, and they leapt at the others. Autumn, Lucas and Liam stayed around dad and mom, protecting them both. I saw dad bite into his wrist to feed mom his blood. At the same time, Jelani yanked the knife from her stomach.

I winced when I heard mom's cry. But I saw out of the corner of my eye, Kaius jump at me. My senses all went on alert, and a little voice in the back of my mind told me to roll to the left. And so I did.

Surprisingly, my foot landed on a tree root sticking from the ground, and my body catapulted off of it. I swung the sword towards Kai's face, and he pulled back just in time to only get a few hairs chopped off. He snarled at me and lashed out his paw.

I blocked it with the sharp end of the blade, and blood spurted from his padded paw. He howled out and leapt backwards and nursed his paw with his tongue. I glared at him and took a step forward.

"Kaius! I really don't want to kill you! Please, just let this all go! Go back to where you came from -and I won't be forced to kill you!" I begged, feeling tears burn my eyelids. Killing someone was the last thing on my mind.

The Kai-wolf looked up at me for a long moment, and the only thing I could hear were the battle cries and growls and snarls of the wolves and my friends and family.

Suddenly Kai changed back to his regular form, and I flinched and kept my eyes on his face since he was naked. Have some modesty, jeez!

His face was sad as he looked into my eyes. He started walking toward me, and I tensed, keeping the sword pointed at him. He gently pushed the sword aside and put a hand on my cheek. His skin was burning warm, making me wince.

"I never wanted any of this to happen, Ren." he said softly, stroking my cheek. When I didn't reply, he continued. "You've become much stronger from my blood. Though you aren't a wolf. I still smell human and vampire on you. Your will was too strong."

I stared up at him, not sure what to say. I was scared if I opened my mouth, I would start crying. Kai leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I'll always love you. Please remember that." he sighed, and then pulled back. As soon as he did, everything from the battle went quiet, and I looked to see all the wolves had backed off. My mom was still being held by dad.

Kai backed away from me and all I could do was watch him. My guilt burned inside of me, but I pushed it down. As soon as Kai turned away, I heard a loud screech of anger behind me.

"If you can't fucking kill her, then _I_ will!" It was Skyla.

I heard Chandler gasp her name, and I turned just to see a blur attack me. I cried out when she knocked the sword from my grasp and the back of my head collided with the hard ground. I heard something crack, and I think it was my skull. All I saw was Skyla holding a knife above me with one hand, and I felt her other hand squeezing the life out of my throat.

I choked out a gasp and tried to look for my sword. My hand collided with the hilt, and I barely managed to grab it before Skyla slammed the knife up to the hilt into the shoulder of the arm I was reaching for the sword.

I screamed out in pain and everything suddenly went blurry and colorful. The pain was horrible, burning me from the inside out. Why wasn't anybody helping me?!

"Grab the damn sword! We're being blocked!" I heard Tayte yell in the distance. Then it came to realization. Kai set me up. He used that as a distraction so Skyla could catch me off guard. My anger overpowered the pain, and I had an adrenalin rush.

My injured arm reached out once more and took the hilt of the sword tightly. Skyla saw my movement and laughed cruelly. She reached out to knock it from me, but I bucked my hips to shove her off balance.

It worked, because she fell to the side, and I took that chance to roll on top of her. She hissed in my face and reached out to grab my throat.

I held my breath, and raised the sword.

Her eyes widened in shock, and I closed my own as I brought the sword down and stabbed it into her throat. I heard the sickening crack as it protruded from the other side of her spine.

Her hands fell from my neck and her body went still.

I started sobbing and I pushed away from her to fall onto my side feet away from her motionless body. I cried hard -both from the pain of my wounds and the realization that I had just _killed_ someone.

I felt cool hands rest underneath my arms and pull me up. They held me bridle style, keeping my head in their chest. The person's shirt smelled like blood and wolves, but I washed it over with my salty tears.

"Shh, it's okay. It's all over now. Emery killed him -he wont be bothering anybody ever again." It was Tayte, and I started crying harder.

Emery had killed Kai. The relief that flooded over me was almost more aching then the knife that was stuck in my shoulder. We were moving, I could tell by the wind swishing past my hair. But I stayed with my face buried in Tayte's neck, hoping he wouldn't get angry that I soaked him with my crying.

And then we were in a car, Tayte keeping me in his lap. I felt a warm hand rest on my hand and comb through my hair. I knew it was Emery. I reached up weakly and took his hand in mine.

"A-are we going to the hospital?" I asked weakly in a whisper. My throat hurt from being throttled. The pain in my shoulder had gone numb, but I could feel the large amount of blood dripping down my arm.

"Yes." Tayte replied.

I sighed and closed my eyes. A nap sounded really nice right now.

*

When I woke up, I was sitting in a hospital bed. I was wearing only a sports bra, and a pair of white shorts. My shoulder was bandaged and crossed underneath the bra across my chest to keep it tight. I had a gauze wrap around my head, and I wondered if when I had hit my head it started to bleed.

I glanced down warily at my arm, and saw the stupid IV sticking from it. They were giving me a blood transfusion. I winced.

"I see you're awake." I heard a friendly and soft voice state from the doorway. I looked up to see a pretty, petite and pale nurse walk in. She smiled at me. "How are you feeling?" she asked, and tested the IV tube to make sure it was still transfusing.

"Like shit." I muttered in response. She laughed and touched my forehead.

"How is your vision? You were hit in the head pretty hard."

"Just a bit sensitive to the light."

"Would you like me to turn them off?" she asked. I smiled weakly and shook my head slowly.

"No thanks. Where is everybody?"

She pulled back and wrote something down on her clipboard. "They're in the waiting room. Would you like them to come visit you?"

"Yes please."

"Okay, family first." she smiled at me and then left the room. I sighed and looked up at the white ceiling in distaste. My senses were still on full alert, and the hospital stunk -really bad. Like blood and bad food and sterilized supplies. Oh, and disinfectants.

Before, none of that had really bothered me. I suddenly heard faint footsteps coming toward me, and my dads scent.

"Karen?" I heard dad ask cautiously from the side of my bed. I smiled over at him. His golden gaze suddenly hardened, and I frowned. "You are the stupidest daughter ever."

I rolled my eyes but smiled again. "Dad, I'm your only daughter."

He let out an aggravated sigh and wrapped his arms gently around me. "Where is mom?" I asked.

"She's in the next room. She hates this hospital more than I do. They bandaged her up and gave her some more blood -as if mine wasn't enough."

I laughed weakly. Liam and Lucas suddenly appeared and they both frowned at me. Liam poked my nose gently. "You did a really bold thing running into that war." he stated, and I raised an eyebrow.

"I saved your asses, didn't I?"

Lucas laughed and both of my second cousins hugged me. When they pulled back, I suddenly had a bunch of questions to ask. "Hey… How is Chandler taking all of this? Where is Emery? Is he okay? What about the others? Where are they? Are they injured?! Are you positive that Kai is dead? That _Skyla_ is… dead?" I finished the last question quietly.

Dad put a hand on my cheek. "Calm down. Don't get worked up. Chandler hasn't really said a word, but he seems fine. Emery is also in the waiting room with everyone but Calixto, Autumn and Tayte."

"Why?!" I panicked.

"Tayte was injured in the stomach and leg. Calixto got a few good scratch marks across his chest and back and Autumn saved Calixto by getting a claw across the face."

I grimaced. "Are they okay?!"

"Yes." Dad replied softly. Then I suddenly felt bad. Tayte had been injured and he had carried me from the battle field to the car. Another thing suddenly hit me.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Who is Isidor?" I remembered talking to him when Kai attempted to change me.

Dad's eyes widened slightly, and he turned to look at Liam and Lucas. Then he looked back at me. "He's an elder. He tried to track you so we could save you, but you fainted and he lost contact with you. I'm surprised you remembered that talk."

I shrugged and then winced when the slight movement sent pain through my shoulder. Dad ran a hand through my messy hair and kissed my cheek. "We're going to check on your mother. The nurse will send the others in."

I nodded and they left. Not even seconds later did Talon first stride into the room, followed by Jelani, Emery, and Chandler. Emery, despite Talon being the first in the room, was by my side before anybody else. He stared down at me, and when I smiled sheepishly up at him, he dropped down to my height and kissed me on the lips.

My eyes widened, and he quickly pulled back. "I thought you had been stabbed in the heart." he muttered. He held onto my hand tightly and I looked down at our entwined fingers.

Chandler suddenly was at my other side. "Are you… sure you're okay?" he asked me.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "That depends; are you mad at me?"

"For killing a chick who tried killing you?" he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, completely angry with you." he said sarcastically. Then he cracked a smirk and hugged me, ignoring Emery.

Jelani hugged me next, and Talon patted my head gently. "We're glad you finished it. Everything kind of almost fell apart when Alexa was stabbed." Talon explained. I thought of mom, and bit my lip.

"Is _she_ okay? Is she angry with me?" I asked bitterly.

Talon laughed and shook his head. "Oh no. She said you pretty much saved her life by being there."

I couldn't help but smile in response. We all talked a bit longer, before a nurse came in and said I needed to rest and let my wounds heal. So they bid their goodbyes and the light in my room went off as the nurse shut the door. I stared at the shut door and then let my mind drift off into a sleep full of nightmares.

I dreamt about Skyla's horrified, motionless face as she stared up at me, cursing me with her eyes for the rest of my life. I dreamt of Kai touching my cheek and saying he was sorry. I dreamt of Chandler and Emery fighting over me, trying to kill each other.

At long last, Tayte broke up the imaginary fight, and I suddenly realized -in my sleep- that I was going to have to choose between one of them.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short!

* * *

Later that day, I was allowed to get up and visit mom, Autumn, Tayte and Calixto. They were all doing fine, and seemed more glad that I was doing better now. My shoulder didn't hurt half as much, and the nurse said my healing powers were kicking in.

Dad and Emery stayed by my side as they walked me to each room. When we had entered Tayte's, my heart dropped tremendously. He was reading a book, and smiled brightly up at me when we entered. My mind went back to my row of dreams, and I nibbled my lip nervously.

"Hey there Ren. Glad to see you're coping." he said a bit sarcastically. I laughed shakily and hugged him. He kissed my cheek and embraced me back. When I pulled away, he was watching me with bright, blue eyes that had once reminded me of Chandler. Not anymore.

I no longer knew what my feelings were for Chandler. And now, here I was, teetering between Emery and Tayte. Dad squeezed my arm and I blushed. I remembered he was a damned mind reader. That made parenting so much easier for him, I bet. Once again, he applied pressure to my arm and I smirked up at him.

He narrowed his eyes toward me, but smirked. Tayte and I talked a bit longer before I was directed back to my room. We all had to stay the night, much to my despair. I really was getting tired of this hospital.

My dad stayed in my room with me after Emery left. I laid down and he rested a hand in mine. "I never thought I'd have to kill someone." I muttered. He gently squeezed my hand.

"It happens. It's better then you dying." he told me. I shrugged and sighed.

"So you aren't going to like -ground me or anything after this, are you?"

"I've been considering it, but you did a great job out there." he told me. I grinned at the compliment. He smirked at me then. "Careful, my resolve suddenly seems to be weakening."

I instantly wiped the grin off my face and blinked innocently at him. "Mom wouldn't let you ground me." I said, and he only smirked wider.

"I'm sure I could convince her of it, _very_ easily."

I crinkled my nose. "Yuck. I don't want to hear about that."

We laughed together, and then the nurse came in and said that visiting hours were over. Dad kissed my forehead and said he'd see me the next day. I bid him goodbye and cursed the hospital for being so boring.

*

The next morning, dad picked up me, mom, Tayte, Autumn and Calixto. Needless to say, it felt awkward sitting next to Tayte. Autumn sat on my other side while Calixto sat up front and conversed with dad.

Tayte kept an arm just above my shoulders against the seat, and the coolness of his arm was so close to me. He chatted with Autumn about random shit, and I found myself wanting to lean against him. But that would be weird, considering Emery's father was in the car with us.

He'd probably give me a strange look since Emery was in love with me.

So instead, I leaned my head back against his arm. After all, it was totally in the way of the headrest. I felt his hand move to my shoulder, and I resisted the urge to bite his hand off for making me feel so… warm on the inside.

Emery flashed back into my mind and I suddenly wondered what he was doing. The ride home seemed to take forever.

When we finally got there, we all unloaded. Tayte and Autumn were going to get a ride home later by Chandler, but for now everyone was hanging at our house.

I walked in first, and collapsed against the couch in a heap. I groaned into the pillow. "What's wrong? Shoulder bothering you?" Autumn asked me as she sat at my feet. I shook my head.

I didn't answer her, because Tayte, Emery and Chandler entered the living room followed by everybody else. Autumn didn't push it, but she place a gentle hand on my bare arm, and I wanted to glare at her. She was using her powers. She pulled back and smiled at me. Then she gave me a thumbs up and I rolled my eyes.

"What are you two not telling me?" Tayte asked, as he saw her give me the thumbs.

"Nothing." we both replied in unison. He lifted an eyebrow curiously, and made to reach toward me. Instantly I sat up and smirked at him. He frowned.

"Be a little nicer to the touchy mind reader." Tayte sighed, leaning back in the la-z-boy chair.

"It wasn't about you, Tay-Tay." Autumn smirked, and Tayte rolled his eyes. The other adults were ignoring us and watching TV, though I was sure they could hear what we were saying. Talon, dad and mom -however- were in the kitchen and discussing things.

Emery sat next to me, between Tayte's chair and I. Chandler sat on the couch across from us, and Nydia sat next to him, along with Jelani, Calixto and the others. Liam was stuck sitting on the floor next to my feet. I ran my hands through my second-cousins soft, black hair as he leaned his head back on my knees.

"So Ren," Liam casually began, looking up at me. "who do you plan on choosing?"

I froze and stared down at him. How the… what?! How did he know about my boy problems?! I felt three, certain pairs of eyes on me and I blushed incredulously. Then as payback, I tightened my grip painfully in Liam's hair and yanked hard.

"_Hey_!" he hissed, and I let go, smirking down at him. He gently rubbed his sore head and glared at me.

"You were saying, _Liam dear_?" I asked sarcastically. Liam raised a eyebrow.

"God, you sound like your damn father." he muttered, turning away from me. I laughed.

"Actually, no, continue. I want to hear your answer." I heard Tayte muse from his chair. I paused from sitting back and looked at him. Chandler and Emery were staring at me in shock, and Tayte was watching me coolly.

"I -what?" I stuttered.

Tayte suddenly leaned forward. Without thinking, he took my hand and I felt a tingling burst forth from my hand. Damn his powers. He let go of my hand and sighed. "I won't make you choose, though you seem to have fallen in a pretty big grave."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks a lot, Tay-Tay." I teased, trying to change the subject.

I suddenly felt Emery's warm hand take mine, once again entwining our fingers tightly. In surprise, my, Chandler's and Tayte's gazes fell on mine and Emery's hands. I flushed miserably. I wasn't sure what to do.

"Uh…" I started stupidly. I mentally slapped myself. What was I doing?

The dream came back. I didn't want to have to choose. I didn't want to have to break anybody's heart. I didn't want to only keep one of them. I was being selfish… to all three of these beautiful boys.

I looked back up at Tayte, then to Chandler. They were both watching me with intent blue eyes. My heart began to ache. I glanced wearily at Emery, who also seemed unsure of his actions. Without responding, he let go of my hand and looked away from me.

I nibbled my lip in thought.

It was then I realized that _everybody_ in the living room was now staring at me. Were they really going to make me choose?

I shut my eyes tightly and sucked in a sharp intake of breath.

Then I opened my eyes and looked at the three guys that had each stolen a bit of my heart. I stood up then, and then faced them fully.

"I'm not choosing." was the answer to my choice.


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N: Last chapter... Don't be angry with me -if you want to know more, look at the bottom authors note when you're done reading. :D**_

* * *

The next day was a terrible mess. Once again, dad threw me into the cold shower. My shoulder had healed already, but it still felt a bit sore at the joint. Dad had to make it worse by targeting me with the shower head, where the bullets of water splashed against my face.

I managed to scramble out of the way and then push the shower head back against him, making him soaked through the shirt.

Then he left the bathroom, threatening that if I didn't hurry and take a shower and get to school that he would get mom to bathe me. And so, I hurriedly took a shower. Then I dressed in my black, cargo Capri's and my red and black t-shirt that laced up the front and flowed down my arms in billowy sleeves. Then I slipped on my boots and brushed my hair, before flying down the stairs.

"Okay! I'm done! Who's driving me?" I shouted when I got to the bottom. The day before, when I had said my last words to Tayte, Emery and Chandler, I left to my room and didn't come down for the rest of the day.

I wasn't crying. I was thinking over my actions of the past couple days. It was hard to believe our lives would be normal again. Err, at least semi-normal considering we were all supernaturals.

Dad looked up at me from leaning over my mom on the table, formerly kissing her neck. I made a face and turned away from them. "Careful, dad, you might end up with another _me_." I teased, and dad snorted.

Mom laughed and pushed him off of her so she could point to the living room. "T-Tayte is in the… living room." she told me a bit breathless. I grimaced, not wanting to think they had just been intensely making out. I thanked her before walking past the dining table and leaving the kitchen.

At last thought, I threw over my shoulder a last comment, "Take it to your bedroom! We _eat_ on that table!" I yelled. I heard my mom gasp in response and my dad chuckle.

I laughed and looked forward and ran straight into Tayte. He smiled and his hands went out to keep me from falling. His cold hands on my shoulders sent shivers down my spine.

"Jeez, yesterday I thought you died." he told me, referring to when I left to my room. I blushed.

"Sorry…" I murmured, as we walked out to his car. He didn't say anything else, and I was grateful. Emery and Nydia soon joined us -they were a bit late, I guessed.

"Where is Chandler?" I casually asked. Tayte grimaced.

"He's already at school. Said he had some projects to catch up on." he answered, as we drove out of our driveway. I nodded in understanding and stared out the window. I saw Emery look at me from the mirror just outside my window. He was sitting behind me, and his gaze made my stomach flutter.

The rest of the ride was silent, and when we got to school, Tayte pulled me into a tight hug before letting me go. "I'll pick you guys up after school." he then kissed my cheek -dangerously close to my mouth, and I climbed out of the car faster then possible.

I walked to first period, not trusting my voice to say anything to Emery, so I hugged him as we parted. Chandler was already in the gym, running extra laps while everybody else sat down and chatted. Ah, I see. Getting his frustration out.

I entered the locker rooms and changed, and then walked into the gym. The teacher called me over. "Yes?" I asked her, irritated… She had an annoying voice.

"You need to run a few laps with Chandler since you guys have been absent."

I nodded, and took off to catch up with the male vampire. "Hey." I greeted, running at an even pace with him. He glanced over at me in surprise. Then he smiled.

"Nice to see you up so early."

"Dad threw me into-"

"The shower? Man, I'm sorry." he laughed, and I joined him. It felt awkward though. Everything seemed to be returning back to normal. We ran the rest of the laps in silence, and then the bell rang and we sat next to each other on the bench as the teacher took roll.

Chandler leaned over my lap and tapped one of his friends on the shoulder. His closeness made me feel dizzy, and reminded me of the time he bombarded me on my bed. My brain suddenly rotated and shifted uneasily, but his scent smelled delicious, and I ached to touch him again.

Oh God. I pulled away from him and looked away. I wanted to touch _all_ of them. But that wouldn't be fair. Chandler and Emery both have jealousy issues, and I'm not so sure about Tayte.

Gym ended quicker then I expected, and I went through my other classes. Emery and I sat next to each other, and every time I looked at him, those annoying butterflies tickled my stomach.

Lunchtime came around, and I sat at the usual with Emery, Nydia and their friends. Surprisingly, I saw Chandler come around and sit next to me. He smiled at Emery, and Emery returned the smile. I looked between the two weirdly.

Did they make some sort of pact or something? I sighed and dug into my food as Chandler and Emery chatted like they had been best friends for years. I was _really_ getting a headache.

*

It's been a few months since the day Chandler, Tayte and Emery all began acting normal around each other again. We never mentioned anything about my choice to not choose any of them.

"_Merry Christmas_!" Nydia shouted as she jumped onto my bed. I gasped in shock and flung up on my bed, nearly hitting her in the process.

"_It's Christmas_?!" I screamed in happiness. Nydia nodded with a grin on her face, and we held hands as we leapt down the stairs to see the piles of gifts underneath the tree.

Dad, mom, and… Okay, _everyone_ we knew was in the living room, and they all went quiet when Nydia and I ran into the room. The look on my face must have been priceless, because instantly dad stood up and the next thing I knew there was a blinding flash before my eyes.

"Aw, so _cute_. My daughter in her bright, pink underwear and her mommy's t-shirt." Dad sighed sarcastically, and I froze in shock.

I looked down at myself, then up at Tayte, Emery and Chandler who were all staring wide-eyed at me. I cried out angrily.

Instantly my dad turned to the boys with a death look on his face. "Continue gaping and I castrate each of you."

Immediately they looked away, and I chose that moment to turn hind and run back upstairs. After I had dressed into a pair of sweatpants and a bra with a tank top, I raced back down the stairs again.

Dad ordered that I sit down, and then he whispered something to Talon so quietly, even _I_ couldn't hear it. "Alright, normally we would do this for you on your birthday, but we've decided to trust you enough to give this ultra-awesome gift for you." Tayte told me, and then Talon tossed him a small box of something.

I raised my eyebrows, and then Tayte handed me the gift box. I cautiously opened it, and stared down at the car key in shock. My mouth hung open and I looked up at dad. He shook his head and motioned to Tayte.

"Tayte, Emery and Chandler all saved up for it." he told me. Instantly, I was on my feet.

"_Where is it_?!" I gasped in joy.

All three boys smirked and turned to walk out to the garage. I literally ran after, and nearly tripped on my face when I saw the beautiful car sitting in the center of the garage in all its sleek glory.

It was a red and black Bugatti Veyron -the most expensive car in the world that I used to drool over on the internet.

The key in my hand slid from my grasp and clattered to the floor. My hands slowly went up to cover my mouth. The boys glanced back unsurely at me. "Are you okay?" Emery asked cautiously.

And then I burst into happy tears. I started jumping up and down and squealing incoherent thank-you's. They started laughing as the tears spilled over my cheeks. I ran over to each of them and tackled them into big, bear hugs.

"This is the best ever! I really do love you guys so much! Thank-" I paused and pulled back, shocked at my own words. They each stared at me. Emery bent down and picked up the fallen key and handed it to me.

"Wanna take it for a ride?" Chandler asked, and I smiled at him.

"Let me get everybody!" I said happily, before turning. Emery grabbed my right hand, Chandler grabbed my left, and Tayte put an arm around my waist as we walked through the garage door. At first, I was shocked by their sudden touchiness, but I figured ah, hell, they were just as happy as I was!

It wasn't until dad stopped us from going any further into the house that I became worried. We stood underneath the doorframe, all four of us, and my dad had the largest grin on his usual sarcastic face. He held up a camera, and took a couple pictures.

Mom suddenly started laughing and pointed above our heads.

I looked up and my jaw dropped.

Mistletoe.

Ah, well, it didn't matter who I chose. Hell, I loved each of them. But that didn't matter either. I gave each of them a large kiss on the cheek and smiled.

Nothing mattered anymore, because each of our souls were forever entwined.

* * *

**A/N**: I brought this to a finish because I was running out of story ideas. Since the bad guys were taken care of, I thought, ah, what the hell. Let's give it a cute, happy ending. And I did! Oh… I hope you liked it! I enjoyed getting all your amazing reviews. And I enjoyed writing/typing about Karen's life!

Pretty much Karen decided to just stay best friends with all of them. I might write a sequel in the future -or continue this story, if I ever get anymore ideas.


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